Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
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I  Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1877,  by 
J.    C.  BUTTBE 
In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress  at  Washington,  D.  C. 


Trow's 

Printing  and  Bookbinding  Co., 
printers  and  bookbinders, 
205-213  East  11th  St.y 

NEW  VORK. 


PREFACE. 


In  this  Gallery  we  propose  to  present  the  Portraits  and  Bio- 
graphical Sketches  of  some  of  our  most  prominent  Americans,  includ- 
ing Presidents,  Statesmen,  Military  and  Naval  Officers,  Clergymen, 
Authors,  Poets,  and  others,  whose  talents,  energy,  and  enterprise,  while 
affording  an  instructive  lesson  to  mankind,  seem  worthy  of  being  held 
up  as  examples  for  emulation.  That  the  memory  of  such  persons 
should  have  its  public  record  is  peculiarly  proper,  because  a  knowl- 
edge of  men  whose  substantial  fame  rests  upon  their  attainments, 
character,  and  success  must  exert  a  wholesome  influence  on  the  rising 
generation  of  the  American  people ;  while  to  those  who  have  arrived 
at  a  period  in  life  not  to  be  benefited  by  lessons  designed  for  les3 
advanced  age,  it  cannot  fail  to  prove  interesting. 

If  the  reader  shall  here  find  the  lives  of  many  who  have  enjoyed 
every  advantage  which  affluence  and  early  education  can  bestow,  he 
may  also  trace  the  history  of  those  who,  by  their  own  unaided  efforts, 
have  risen  from  obscurity  to  the  highest  and  most  responsible  trusts  in 
the  land ;  indeed,  it  will  be  found  that  success  has  more  generally 
waited  upon  those  who,  in  early  life,  were  not  encumbered  with  a 
bountiful  supply  of  "  this  world's  goods." 

It  is  needless  to  remark  on  the  extended  information  and  delight 
we  derive  from  the  multiplication  of  portraits  by  engraving,  or  in  the 
advantages  resulting  from  the  study  of  biography.  Separately  con- 
sidered, the  one  affords  an  amusement  not  less  innocent  than  elegant, 
inculcates  the  rudiments,  or  aids  the  progress  of  taste ;  while  the  other, 
useful  in  its  moral  effects,  unfolding  the  secrets  of  human  conduct,  at 
once  informs  and  invigorates  the  mind  and  improves  the  heart. 

It  is,  however,  from  the  combination  of  portrait  and  biography  that 
we  reap  the  utmost  degree  of  utility  and  pleasure  which  can  be  derived 
from  them.'  As,  in  contemplating  the  portrait  of  an  eminent  person, 
we  long  to  be  instructed  in  his  history,  so,  in  considering  his  actions, 
we  are  anxious  to  behold  his  countenance.  So  earnest  is  this  desire, 
that  the  imagination  is  generally  ready  to  coin  a  set  of  features,  or  to 
conceive  a  character,  to  supply  the  absence  of  one  or  the  other. 


CONTENTS. 

Vol.  L 


1.  Washington,  George. 

2.  Meade,  George  G. 

3.  Stam-on,  Edwin  M. 

4.  Halleck,  Fitz-Greene. 

5.  Adams,  John  Qdinct. 
C.  Faruagut,  David  G. 

V.  MclLVAINE,  CnARLES  P. 

8.  Franklin,  Benjamin. 

9.  Webster,  Daniel. 

10.  Lee,  Kobert  E. 

11.  Andrew,  James  0. 

12.  Willis,  Nathaniel  P. 

13.  Everett,  Edward. 

14.  Thomas,  George  H. 

15.  Barnes,  Albert. 

16.  Curtis,  George  W. 

17.  Washington,  Martha. 

18.  Lyon,  Nathaniel. 

19.  Cummins,  George  D. 

20.  Irving,  Washington. 

21.  Bienville,  Jean  B.  L. 

22.  Foote,  Andrew  H. 

23.  B artlett,  John  R. 

24.  Prenttce,  George  D. 

25.  Harper,  Fletcher. 

26.  Sheridan,  Philip  H. 

27.  Milburn,  William  H. 

28.  Sedgwick,  Catharine  M. 

29.  Houston,  Sam. 

30.  Anderson,  Robert. 

31.  King,  TnoMAS  S. 

32.  Morris,  George  P. 

33.  Sumner,  Charles. 

34.  Jones,  John  Paul. 

35.  De  Witt,  TnoMAS. 

36.  Sprague,  Charles. 

37.  Van  Buren,  Martin. 

38.  Porter,  David  D. 

39.  Peabody,  George. 

40.  Mitchell,  Donald  G. 


41.  St.  Clair,  Arthur. 

42.  Jackson,  Thomas  J. 

43.  Adams,  John. 

44.  Cozzens,  Frederick  8. 

45.  Pierce,  Franklin. 

46.  Wilkes,  Charles. 

47.  McCloskey,  John. 

48.  Brittan,  Samuel  B. 

49.  Waite,  Morrison  R. 

50.  Hooker,  Joseph. 

51.  Vassar,  Matthew. 

52.  Allston,  Washington. 

53.  Huntington,  Samuel. 

54.  Breckinridge,  John  C. 

55.  Benton,  Thom  as  H. 

56.  Francis,  JonN  W. 

57.  Greeley,  Horace. 
58  Baker,  Edward  D. 

59.  Longstreet,  Augustus  B. 

60.  Wilson,  Henry. 

61.  Pepperrell,  Sir  William. 

62.  Worden,  John  L. 

63.  Johnson,  Richard  M. 

64.  Benjamin,  Park. 

65.  Childs,  George  W. 

66.  Kearney,  Philip. 

67.  Day,  Jeremiah. 

68.  Johnson,  Andrew. 

69.  Kennedy,  JonN  P. 

70.  Goldsborough,  Louis  M. 

71.  Jefferson,  TnoMAS. 

72.  Ritchie,  Anna  Cora  M. 

73.  Phillips,  Wendell. 

74.  Sherman,  William  T. 

75.  Murray,  Nicholas. 

76.  Bates,  Samuel  P. 

77.  Silliman,  Benjamin. 

78.  Burnside,  Ambrose  E. 

79.  Kavanaugh,  Hubbard  H. 

80.  Crockett,  David. 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 


Our  first  President,  "  first  in  war,  first  in  peace,  first  in  the  hearts 
of  his  countrymen,"  was  born  at  Bridge's  Creek,  Westmoreland  County, 
Virginia,  on  the  22d  of  February,  1V32.  Left  fatherless  at  an  early 
age,  his  education  was  directed  by  his  mother.  Before  his  thirteenth 
year  he  had  copied  forms  for  all  kinds  of  legal  and  mercantile  papers. 
His  manuscript  school-books,  which  still  exist,  are  said  to  be  models  of 
neatness  and  accuracy.  This  habit  of  exactness,  as  well  as  many  others 
formed  in  his  youth,  proved  of  inestimable  benefit  to  him  in  his  after 
life.  The  old  saying,  "  The  boy  is  father  of  the  man,"  was  exemplified 
even  in  his  amusements ;  his  favorite  pastimes  being  of  a  military 
character  ;  his  playmates  were  made  soldiers,  and  he  commanded  their 
mock  parades.  He  commenced  his  military  career  when  a  young  man 
a  little  over  twenty  years  of  age.  At  the  opening  of  the  French  and 
Indian  war  he  was  second  in  command  over  the  Virginia  troops,  but 
soon  rose  to  the  full  command  of  them. 

On  the  6th  of  January,  1759,  George  Washington  married  Mrs. 
Martha  Custis,  widow  of  Daniel  Parke  Custis,  one  of  the  loveliest  and 
most  intelligent  ladies  of  the  age.  With  his  wife  and  her  two  children 
he  retired  to  his  charming  home  of  Mount  Vernon,  where  they  spent 
fifteen  years  of  uninterrupted  happiness.  His  attention  was  given  to 
his  private  affairs,  his  occupation  being  that  of  a  large  planter,  raising 
wheat  and  tobacco.  The  flour  made  on  the  estate,  and  bearing  the 
brand  of  Washington,  passed  through  the  market  without  inspection. 
The  tobacco  was  sent  to  England. 

In  manner,  Washington  was  formal  and  dignified ;  his  native 
reserve,  generous  style  of  living,  and  fondness  for  the  appurtenances 
of  high  life,  exposed  him  to  the  charge  of  aristocratic  feeling.  In  his 
personal  appearance  he  was  over  six  feet  in  height,  but  graceful  and 
perfectly  erect. 

On  the  breaking  out  of  the  Revolutionary  war,  Washington,  then 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 


a  general,  was  appointed  by  the  second  Continental  Congress,  which 
met  at  Philadelphia,  commander-in-chief  of  the  American  army,  as  im- 
portant and  at  the  same  time  dangerous  a  position  as  a  man  ever  held. 
As  an  officer  he  was  brave,  enterprising,  and  cautious,  which  won  for 
him  the  title  of  the  American  Fabius.  His  campaigns  were  rarely 
startling,  but  they  were  always  judicious  ;  he  exercised  equal  authority 
over  himself  and  his  soldiers ;  his  capability  for  great  endurance 
and  his  calmness  in  both  defeat  and  victory  were  remarkable.  After 
long  years  of  fighting,  together  with  the  unutterable  horrors  of  star- 
vation and  freezing,  the  war  was  virtually  closed  by  the  surrender 
of  Cornwallis  on  the  19th  of  October,  1781.  As  the  British  cap- 
tives, about  seven  thousand  in  number,  marched  from  their  intrench- 
ments  to  lay  down  their  arms,  Washington  thus  addressed  his  troops : 
"  My  brave  fellows,  let  no  sensation  of  satisfaction  for  the  triumphs 
you  have  gained  induce  you  to  insult  your  fallen  enemy.  Let  no 
shouting,  no  clamorous  hurrahing  increase  their  mortification.  Pos- 
terity will  hurrah  for  us."  The  army  was  not  disbanded  until  some 
time  after  the  treaty  acknowledging  the  independence  of  the  United 
States  had  been  signed  at  Paris,  September  3, 1783.  Washington,  after 
bidding  his  soldiers  an  affecting  farewell  on  the  4th  of  December,  and 
resigning  his  commission  as  commander-in-chief  at  Annapolis,  on  the 
23d  of  the  same  month,  hastened  to  his  Mount  Vernon  home,  followed 
by  the  thanksgivings  of  a  grateful  people. 

In  the  choice  of  a  first  President  of  the  United  States  all  turned 
instinctively  toward  Washington.  With  deep  regret  he  again  left  his 
quiet  home,  this  time  for  the  tumults  of  political  life.  On  the  30th  of 
April,  1789,  on  the  balcony  of  the  old  Federal  Hall,  in  New  York,  the 
temporary  capital,  he  took  the  oath  to  support  the  constitution  of  the 
United  States,  adopted  in  1787.  The  difficulties  which  beset  the  new 
government  on  every  hand  were  wisely  met  by  Washington  and  his 
cabinet.  As  a  President  he  carefully  weighed  his  decisions,  but  his 
policy  once  settled  he  pursued  it  with  steadiness  and  dignity,  however 
great  the  opposition  might  be.  He  served  two  successive  terms,  and 
attended  the  inauguration  of  his  successor,  John  Adams. 

He  died  in  his  home  at  Mount  "Vernon,  December  14,  1799,  after 
a  brief  and  severe  illness.  Europe  and  America  vied  in  their  tributes 
to  his  memory.    His  remains  lie  in  their  tomb  at  Mount  Vernon. 

"  Providence  left  him  chil  iless,  that  his  country  might  call  him 
father." 


MAJ.  GEN.  GEO.  G-.  MEADE . 


GEORGE   GORDON  MEADE. 


General  Meade  was  born  at  Cadiz,  in  Spain,  in  1815,  where  his 
father  was  then  residing  as  United  States  Consul  and  Navy  Agent. 

A  short  time  after  his  birth,  however,  he  came  to  Philadelphia  with 
his  parents,  where  his  boyhood  days  were  spent.  At  an  early  age  he 
attended  a  school  at  Georgetown,  D.  C,  at  that  time  taught  by  the  late 
Chief -Justice  Chase.  After  studying  a  few  years  at  a  military  acad- 
emy near  Philadelphia,  he  was  appointed  to  the  academy  at  West 
Point,  in  1831 ;  and  after  graduating  with  honor  four  years  later,  was 
appointed  second  lieutenant  in  artillery,  and  immediately  ordered 
to  his  regiment,  then  engaged  in  active  service  against  the  Seminole 
Indians.  He  was  obliged  to  resign  his  commission  a  year  later,  on 
account  of  ill-health,  but  only  to  resume  service  again  upon  the  break- 
ing out  of  the  Mexican  war.  At  the  close  of  the  war  Meade  was  bre- 
vetted  first  lieutenant,  as  an  acknowledgment  of  his  bravery,  he  having 
distinguished  himself  on  several  occasions  during  the  campaign. 

In  1840  he  married  a  daughter  of  John  Sergeant,  of  Philadelphia. 
He  was  now  engaged  in  the  engineer  service  in  the  survev  of  tho 
northern  lakes,  but  when  the  call  was  made  for  volunteer  troops  at  the 
commencement  of  the  late  civil  war,  he  was  ordered  east,  and  assigned, 
with  the  rank  of  brigadier-general  of  volunteers,  to  the  command  of 
the  Second  Brigade  of  the  Pennsylvania  Reserve  Corps.  At  this 
point  his  career  commenced.  His  troops,  never  having  had  any  of  the 
advantages  of  training,  were  aptly  called  "  raw  recruits."  Several 
months  were  required  to  perfect  their  organization,  which  was  done  as 
far  as  the  circumstances  permitted.  In  the  spring  of  1862,  the  corps 
of  which  the  brigade  was  a  portion,  crossed  from  Washington  into  Vir- 
ginia, and  became  a  part  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac.  When  this 
army  moved  upon  Manassas,  Gen.  Meade's  brigade  was  assigned  to  the 
Second  Division  of  McDowell's  First  Army  Corps,  and  remained  with 
it  until  his  brigade  was  added  to  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  on  the  Pen- 


GEORGE   GORDON  MEADE. 


insula.  Meanwhile,  his  rank  in  the  regular  army  had  been  raised  tc 
that  of  major  of  engineers.  General  Meade  took  part  in  a  number  of 
severe  engagements,  while  he  was  on  the  Peninsula.  He  also  took 
an  active  part  in  the  battle  of  Mechaniesville,  and  at  the  battle  of 
Gaines'  Mills  he  was  brevetted  for  bravery.  A  wound  received  at 
New  Market  temporarily  disabled  him,  but  he  was  soon  again  at  the 
head  of  his  division,  and  greatly  distinguished  himself  during  tbe 
Maryland  campaign.  When  Gen.  Hooker  was  wounded  at  Antietam 
he  succeeded  him,  and  commanded  the  corps  with  great  ability.  At 
Fredericksburg  he  won  great  honor  in  a  desperate  charge  upon  the 
Confederate  lines.  Two  days  after  he  succeeded  to  the  command  of 
the  Fifth  Army  Corps,  and  was  promoted  to  be  a  major-general  of 
volunteers.  On  the  28th  of  June,  1863,  he  was  placed  in  command  of 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac  by  President  Lincoln. 

His  history  during  the  next  few  weeks  will  forever  be  remembered 
and  appreciated  by  the  American  people.  Overtaking  Lee,  with  the 
Federal  troops,  at  Gettysburg,  on  the  1st  of  July,  he  fought  and  won 
this  battle  of  three  days'  duration,  which  was  the  turning-point  of  the 
rebellion.  The  next  spring  General  Grant  assumed  personal  super- 
vision of  tbe  army  in  Virginia,  but  Gen.  Meade  continued  at  its  head, 
and  won  new  distinction  by  frequent  exhibitions  of  his  tactical  skill. 
He  was  made  a  major-general  in  the  regular  army,  his  commission 
bearing  date  Aug.  18,  1864.  Up  to  the  close  of  the  war  he  remained 
in  command  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  and  was  prominent  in  the 
great  scenes  around  Petersburg,  which  ended  the  rebellion.  Although 
not  as  great  a  soldier  as  Grant  or  Sherman,  few  officers  won  a  higher 
reputation  for  ability. 

At  tbe  close  of  the  war  he  was  assigned  to  the  command  of  the 
Military  Division  of  the  Atlantic,  where  it  required  the  tact  of  the 
statesman  more  than  that  of  the  soldier,  and  he  proved  himself  as 
capable  there  as  he  had  during  the  war. 

The  last  five  years  of  his  life  were  passed  m  comparative  quiet  in 
Philadelphia,  where  he  died  November,  1872.  In  social  life  he  was 
highly  esteemed,  and  possessed  easy  manners  and  a  fine  address.  His 
personal  appearance  was  remarkable,  being  tall  and  spare,  but  well 
proportioned. 


» 


EDWIN   M.  STANTON. 


Prominent  among  the  men  who  were  identified  with  the  late  civil 
war,  and  who  performed  lasting  service  for  their  country,  was  the  late 
Hon.  Edwin  M.  Stanton,  ex-Secretary  of  War.  This  celebrated  lawyer 
and  statesman  was  bom  at  Steu'oenville,  Ohio,  December  19,  1814. 
His  father  was  a  physician  of  some  eminence  who  had  carried  on  a 
successful  practice  in  North  Carolina,  his  native  State. 

Young  Stanton  received  a  good  academical  education  in  his  native 
town;  graduated  from  Kenyon  College  in  1833;  studied  law  under  the 
Hon.  Benjamin  Tappan,  senator  for  the  State  of  Ohio,  who  took  him 
into  partership,  thus  giving  him  a  good  start  in  his  legal  career.  He 
was  admitted  to  the  Columbus  bar  in  1836,  and  rose  rapidly  in  his  pro- 
fession. He  began  practice  at  Cadiz,  Ohio,  becoming  prosecuting 
attorney  of  the  county  in  1S37 ;  but  soon  returned  to  Steubenville, 
where  he  had  extensive  practice.  In  1848  he  removed  to  Pittsburg, 
Pa.,  became  the  leader  of  the  bar,  and  was  often  employed  in  the 
Supreme  Court  at  Washington.  His  argument  in  the  case  of  the 
Wheeling  Suspension  Bridge  is  among  the  most  noted  of  his  efforts 
during  this  period. 

In  the  winter  of  1S57-8  he  was  selected  by  President  Buchanan  to 
manage  a  case  of  interest  in  California,  on  behalf  of  the  Government. 
On  his  return  he  commenced  practising  in  the  United  States  Supreme 
Court  at  Washington ;  and  was  one  of  the  counsel  in  the  Sickles  trial. 
His  first  appearance  in  politics  was  in  18G0,  when  he  succeeded  Judge 
Black  as  Attorney-General ;  and  did  his  country  great  service  by  re- 
sisting, as  far  as  possible,  the  efforts  of  the  secession  leaders,  then 
actively  engaged  in  fomenting  the  civil  war  that  soon  after  broke  out- 
He  went  out  of  office  with  Mr.  Buchanan's  administration,  March  4, 
1861. 

On  the  13th  of  January,  1862,  he  was  appointed  by  President  Lin- 
coln Secretary  of  War,  and  was  continued  in  that  position  by  Presi- 
dent Johnson  until  August  12, 1867,  when  he  was  suspended  as  Sece 


EDWIN   M.  STANTON. 


tary  by  the  President,  but,  by  order  of  the  Senate,  was  reinstated  in 
office  January  14,  1S6S.  On  the  21st  of  February  following,  President 
Johnson  made  a  second  effort  to  remove  him,  but,  by  direction  of  the 
Senate,  he  continued  in  office,  and  until  the  failure  of  the  Impeach- 
ment trial,  upon  which  he  resigned  in  May,  1868.  In  1867  he  received 
from  Tale  College  the  degree  of  LL.D. 

"When  Mr.  Stanton  entered  the  Cabinet  he  was  in  the  maturity  of 
his  physical  and  intellectual  powers.  He  carried  into  the  War  Depart- 
ment great  capacity  for  labor,  almost  incredible  powers  of  endurance, 
rapidity  of  decision,  promptitude  of  action,  and  inflexibility  of  purpose, 
all  inspired  and  impelled  by  a  vehement  and  absorbing  patriotism. 
His  labors  as  war  secretary  were  overwhelming;  he  slept  for  months  at 
the  office,  working  till  two  or  three  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  rising 
before  the  sun.  His  assistant  secretaries,  men  of  energy  and  ability, 
broke  down  one  after  another,  but  he  bore  the  brunt  of  the  burden 
with  inflexible  courage  and  perseverance,  and  unequalled  ability.  His 
natural  energy  and  impulsiveness  of  character,  the  continuous  pressure 
and  exhausting  nature  of  his  duties,  made  him  often  brusque  in  man- 
ner and  curt  in  speech,  even  to  those  in  whose  loyalty,  fidelity,  and 
purity  he  had  all  confidence.  But  he  seemed  ever  ready  to  correct  mis- 
takes, and  make  amends  to  those  whom  he  had  wounded  or  aggrieved 
by  hasty  words  or  acts.  His  heart  was  full  of  tenderness  for  every 
form  of  suffering  and  sorrow,  and  he  always  had  words  of  sympathy 
for  the  smitten  and  afflicted.  Many  a  sick  and  wounded  soldier,  and 
many  a  family  bereaved  by  the  war,  will  gratefully  cherish  the  remem- 
brance of  his  considerate  regard. 

After  his  retirement  from  office,  with  health  shattered  by  his  ardu- 
ous labors,  he  was  stricken  down.  His  closing  hours,  however,  were 
brightened  by  the  high  appreciation  of  the  Government,  and  the  flatter- 
ing manifestations  of  popular  regard.  He  was  nominated  and  appointed 
Associate  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court,  December  20, 1869.  This  un- 
solicited action  of  the  members  of  Congress,  and  the  courteous  conduct 
of  the  President,  were  approved  by  a  loyal  press  and  applauded  by  a 
loyal  people.  Congratulations  flowed  in  upon  Mr.  Stanton,  and  he 
realized,  perhaps  for  the  first  time,  the  hold  he  had  upon  the  nation, 
and  the  gratitude  and  confidence  of  his  countrymen.  But  in  that 
moment  of  triumph  he  passed  from  earth,  at  Washington,  D.  C, 
December  24,  1869,  to  take  his  place  in  the  hearts  and  memories  of 
the  people,  among  the  most  illustrious,  honored,  and  loved  of  hia 
countrymen. 


FITZ-GREENE  HALLECK. 


The  author  of  "Fanny,"  " Marco Bozzaris,"  etc.,  was  born  at  Guil- 
ford, Connecticut,  July  8, 1790.  His  mother,  Mary  Eliot,  was  a  descendant 
of  John  Eliot,  the  "  Apostle  to  the  Indians."  He  acquired  a  good  aca- 
demical education  in  his  native  town.  He  early  evinced  a  taste  for 
poetry,  and  in  1809  one  of  his  effusions  was  published  in  a  New  Haven 
paper.  It  is  said  there  were  some  written  still  earlier  than  this.  In 
1811  he  went  to  New  York,  and  entered  the  banking-house  of  Jacob 
Barker,  with  which  he  was  associated  for  many  years,  subsequently 
performing  the  duties  of  a  book-keeper  in  the  private  office  of  John 
Jacob  As  tor.  Soon  after  the  death  of  that  eminent  millionaire,  he 
retired  to  his  old  home  in  Connecticut. 

In  1813  Halleck's  second  poem  appeared  in  HoWs  Columbian, 
New  York,  under  the  signature  of  "A  Connecticut  Farmer's  Boy." 
The  editor  remarked  that  he  did  not  credit  that  authorship,  for  "  the 
verses  were  too  good  to  be  original."  His  first  celebrity  in  literature 
was  gained  when  the  poetical  squibs  of  Croaker  &  Co.  appeared  in  the 
Evening  Post,  in  1819.  In  the  production  of  these  he  was  associated 
with  his  intimate  friend,  Joseph  Rodman  Drake,  the  author  of  the 
"  Culprit  Fay,"  a  man  of  brilliant  wit  and  delicate  fancy.  The  objects 
of  their  quizzing  were  the  politicians,  editors,  aldermen,  and  the  small 
theatrical  characters  of  the  day.  For  a  long  time  the  curiosity  of  the 
town — for  such  was  New  York  at  that  time — was  greatly  excited  to  know 
by  whom  these  pieces  were  written,  and  the  authorship  was  ascribed,  at 
different  times,  to  various  gentlemen.  Several  of  the  "  Croakers " 
appeared  in  the  National  Advocate,  published  by  Noah.  "  Fanny," 
which  grew  out  of  the  success  of  the  Croakers,  was  published  in  1819. 
Its  authorship  was  for  a  long  time  unacknowledged. 

Halleck's  tour  through  Europe,  in  1822,  called  forth  a  reminiscence 
"Alnwick  Castle."  In  1825  he  became  a  contributor  to  Bryant's  peri- 
odicals, the  New  York  Review  and  V.  S.  Revieio,  where  his  "  Marco 
Bozzaris  "  and  "  Burns  "  first  appeared. 


FITZ-GREENE  HALLECK. 


Upon  the  death  of  his  friend  Drake,  he  wrote  the  oft-quoted  lines 
to  his  memory,  beginning : 

"  Green  be  the  turf  above  thee, 
Friend  of  my  better  days  ! 
None  knew  thee  but  to  love  thee, 
None  named  thee  but  to  praise." 

"His  poetry,  whether  serious  or  sprightly,  is  remarkable  for  the 
melody  of  the  numbers.  He  was  familiar  with  those  general  rules  and 
principles  which  are  the  basis  of  metrical  harmony,  and  his  own 
unerring  taste  taught  him  the  exceptions  which  a  proper  attention  to 
variety  demands.  He  understood  that  the  rivulet  is  made  musical  by 
obstructions  in  its  channel.  In  no  poetry  can  be  found  passages  which 
flow  with  more  sweet  and  liquid  smoothness ;  but  he  knew  very  well 
that  to  make  this  smoothness  perceived  and  to  prevent  it  from  degen- 
erating into  monotony,  occasional  roughness  must  be  interposed." 

In  January,  1864,  Halleck  broke  a  long  protracted  silence  by  the 
publication  in  the  New  York  Ledger  of  a  poem  called  "Young 
America,"  containing  some  three  hundred  lines,  composed  of  lyrics  in 
different  measure. 

On  the  19th  of  November,  1S67,  Mr.  Halleck  died  peacefully, 
though  suddenly,  in  the  seventy-eighth  year  of  his  age. 

The  Halleck  Monument,  erected  at  Guilford,  Conn.,  July  8,  1869, 
was  the  first  in  honor  of  an  American  poet. 

In  the  summer  of  1877  a  Statue  of  Halleck  was  placed  in  the 
Central  Park,  New  York. 

Halleck's  literary  career  seems  to  have  ended  early,  and  in  account- 
ing for  his  silence  in  the  latter  half  of  his  life,  it  is  said  "  that  having 
composed  his  poems,  he  retained  them  in  his  faithful  memory  for  a 
great  length  of  time  before  committing  them  to  paper,  revising  them, 
and  murmuring  them  to  himself  in  his  solitary  moments,  and  in  his 
enthusiasm  heightening  the  beauty  of  the  thought  or  of  the  expression, 
and  in  this  way  attaining  the  gracefulness  of  his  diction,  and  the  airy 
melody  of  his  numbers.  It  is  supposed  that  his  time  being  taken  up  by 
the  tasks  of  his  vocation,  he  naturally  lost  by  degrees  the  habit  of  com- 
posing in  this  manner,  and  that  he  found  it  so  necessary  to  the  perfec- 
tion of  what  he  wrote,  that  he  adopted  no  other  in  its  place." 

He  was  a  bachelor,  and  was  as  much  esteemed  by  his  friends  for 
his  social  qualities  as  he  was  popular  with  the  world  as  a  poet. 


3,  SL.JIdc^^ 


JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS. 


John  Quinct  Adams,  the  sixth  President  of  the  United  States,  and 
the  eldest  son  of  President  John  Adams,  was  born  in  the  rural  home 
of  his  father,  in  Braintree,  Massachusetts,  July  11,  1767.  The  origin 
of  his  name  was  thus  stated  by  himself:  "My  great-grandfather. 
John  Quincy,  was  dying  when  I  was  baptized,  and  his  daughter,  my 
grandmother,  requested  I  might  receive  his  name.  This  fact,  recorded 
by  my  father,  has  connected  with  my  name  a  charm  of  mingled  sensi- 
bility and  devotion.  It  was  filial  tenderness  that  gave  the  name — it 
was  the  name  of  one  passing  from  earth  to  immortality.  These  have 
been  through  life  perpetual  admonitions  to  do  nothing  unworthy  of  it." 

His  education  was  commenced  at  a  village  school.  In  February, 
1778,  his  father,  John  Adams,  was  sent  to  Paris,  where  he  was  as- 
sociated with  Franklin  and  Lee  as  minister  plenipotentiary.  Young 
Adams  accompanied  him  and  attended  school  until  they  returned  to 
America  in  August,  1779,  and  in  November  he  again  became  his 
father's  companion  on  his  second  diplomatic  mission  to  Europe.  After 
applying  himself  with  great  diligence  to  his  studies  in  Paris  for  six 
months,  he  first  entered  a  school  in  Amsterdam,  and  then  the  Univer- 
sity of  Leyden.  When  a  manly  boy  of  fourteen,  he  was  selected  by 
Mr.  Dana,  our  minister  at  the  Pussian  court,  as  his  private  secretary. 
He  discharged  the  duties  of  this  position  satisfactorily  for  fourteen 
months,  and  after  a  short  tour,  joined  his  father  in  Holland,  with  whom 
he  visited  England  in  1783.  In  1785  he  returned  home  to  complete 
his  education.  After  graduating  at  Harvard,  in  1788,  he  entered  the 
office  of  Theophilus  Parsons,  afterward  the  Chief  Justice  of  Massa- 
chusetts, with  whom  he  studied  for  three  years.  In  1791  he  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar,  and  opened  a  law  office  in  Boston.  In  1791  he  was 
appointed  minister  to  the  court  of  Hague,  by  Washington,  who,  in 
1797,  pronounced  him  "the  most  valuable  public  character  we  have 
abroad,  and  the  ablest  of  all  our  diplomatic  corps." 


JOHN   QUINCY  ADAMS. 


The  same  year  he  married  the  daughter  of  Joshua  Johnson,  om 
consul  at  London,  and  niece  of  Thos.  Johnson,  a  signer  of  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence.  In  the  latter  part  of  the  year  he  was  sent  tc 
Berlin,  where  he  negotiated  a  treaty  with  the  Prussian  government. 

Returning  home  in  1801,  he  was  elected  to  the  State  Senate,  and 
two  years  later  a  member  of  the  Senate  of  the  United  States.  Having 
been  appointed  Professor  of  Rhetoric  at  Harvard  College,  he  dis- 
charged these  duties  until  he  resigned  his  seat  in  1809.  Madison,  im- 
mediately upon  becoming  President,  appointed  Mr.  Adams  Minister  to 
Russia,  where  he  remained  until  he  and  others  negotiated  a  treaty  of 
peace  with  England.  Upon  his  return  home  in  1817,  Monroe  appointed 
him  Secretary  of  State.  He  remained  in  office  eight  years,  and,  after- 
ward was  chosen  to  the  Presidency  by  the  House  of  Representatives, 
on  whom  the  choice  had  devolved. 

John  Quincy  Adams'  administration,  1825-1829,  was  a  period  of 
great  national  prosperity.  During  this  term  the  first  railroad  in  the 
United  States  was  completed,  and  the  Erie  Canal  opened.  The  debt 
was  fast  diminishing,  and  there  was  a  surplus  of  $6,000,000  in  the 
treasury.  Although  a  man  of  learning,  of  blameless  reputation,  and 
unquestioned  patriotism,  he  was  hardly  successful  as  a  President.  This 
was  owing  greatly  to  the  fierce  opposition  which  assailed  him  from  the 
friends  of  disappointed  candidates.  The  combination  of  these  and 
other  causes  prevented  his  re-election,  though  he  had  received  the 
nomination  of  1) is  party. 

Two  years  later,  he  was  returned  to  Congress,  where  he  remained 
over  sixteen  years,  thus  rendering  ten  years  of  public  service  after  he 
had  passed  his  "  threescore  years  and  ten."  Even  at  this  extreme  age 
he  retained  his  ability  in  debate  to  so  great  a  degree,  that  he  was  called 
the  "  Old  man  Eloquent."  Mr.  Adams  is  said  to  have  been  very  genial 
with  friends,  but  in  his  public  manners  there  was  a  coldness,  which, 
unhappily,  detracted  from  his  popularity.  A  more  pure-minded,  up- 
right patriot  never  occupied  the  Presidential  chair.  "  There  never 
was  an  administration  more  pure  in  principles,  more  conscientiously 
devoted  to  the  best  interests  of  the  country,  than  that  of  John  Quincy 
Adams,  and  never,  perhaps,  an  administration  more  unscrupulously 
and  outrageously  assailed."  Many  of  the  most  bitter  of  the  assailants 
lived  to  look  back  with  deep  regret  upon  the  course  they  had  pursued, 

Mr.  Adams'  great  worth  was  gradually  appreciated ;  his  fame  in- 
creased with  his  age,  and  at  his  death  he  was  mourned  as  a  trusted  and 
revered  champion  of  popular  rights.    He  died  February  21, 1848. 


DAVID    GLASCOE  FARRAGUT. 


David  Glascoe  Fakragut  was  born  near  Knoxville,  Tennessee, 
Jnly  5,  1S01.  His  father,  Major  Farragut,  was  at  that  time  in  the 
cavalry  service  of  the  United  States,  and  an  intimate  personal  friend 
of  General  Jackson.  Young  Farragut's  early  life  was  passed  on  the 
frontiers,  and  he  always  retained  the  remembrance  of  their  thrilling 
adventures  with  the  Indians.  When  a  mere  child,  some  nine  years  of 
age,  he  entered  the  naval  service  as  a  midshipman,  his  warrant  bearing 
date  December  17,  1S10.  He  was  first  on  board  the  Essex,  nnder 
Commodore  David  Porter,  and  served  with  him  also  in  the  expedition 
around  Cape  Horn,  in  1813.  This  vessel  was  a  terror  to  the  British 
fleet  during  the  war  of  1812. 

Midshipman  Farragut  would  have  been  promoted  early  but  from 
his  extreme  youth.  On  one  occasion,  when  it  was  found  necessary  to 
appoint  an  acting  lieutenant  to  one  of  Commodore  Porter's  captures, 
David  Farragut's  name  was  mentioned,  but  his  appointment  was 
opposed  on  the  ground  that  he  was  "  a  mere  boy." 

After  the  war  closed  he  made  a  cruise  to  the  Mediterranean,  on  the 
Independence.  During  the  year  1821  he  passed  his  examination,  and 
was  recommended  for  promotion.  He  was  then  ordered  to  the  West 
India  station,  but  did  not  receive  his  commission  as  lieutenant  until 
1825.  From  1821  to  1824  he  distinguished  himself  by  his  cruise  fo,< 
pirates  in  the  Caribbean  Sea.  In  1828  he  was  ordered  to  the  slooj 
Vandalia,  which  joined  the  squadron  on  the  coast  of  Brazil,  returning 
after  two  years  to  Norfolk.  He  was  next  ordered  to  the  sloop-of-wai 
Natchez,  off  the  coast  of  Brazil.  From  1834  to  1851  he  was  variously 
employed,  on  the  West  India  station,  the  Norfolk  Navy-yard,  and 
with  the  Home  Squadron.  From  1851  to  1853  he  was  Assistant 
Inspector  of  Ordnance  under  Commodore  Skinner.  About  this  time  a 
new  navy-yard  was  established  at  Mare's  Island,  near  San  Francisco. 
California.    Commander  Farragut  was  ordered  to  this  post.    In  1855 


DAVID   GLASCOE  PARRAOUT. 


te  was  commissioned  a  captain  of  the  United  States  Navy,  [n  1858 
he  was  ordered  to  the  command  of  the  steam-sloop  Brooklyn,  forming 
a  portion  of  the  Home  Squadron. 

We  now  arrive  at  a  period  when  the  name  of  Farragut  was  made 
dear  to  the  hearts  of  the  American  people.  Soon  after  the  breaking  out 
of  the  civil  war,  he  left  his  Southern  home,  and  with  his  family  went 
to  Hastings-  on-the-Hudson.  The  celebrated  expedition  to  New  Or- 
leans was  fitted  out,  and  Farragut,  promoted  to  the  rank  of  Com- 
modore, sailed  as  commander  of  the  naval  portion.  He  found  every 
point  on  the  Mississippi  River  below  the  city  was  strongly  fortified, 
but,  in  nowise  daunted  by  the  obstacles  in  his  path,  commenced  the 
bombardment  of  Fort  Jackson  April  18,  1862,  and  kept  up  a  destruc- 
tive fire,  until  the  principal  vessels  were  enabled  to  pass  the  forts, 
which  they  did  on  the  morning  of  the  24th.  On  their  way  up  the  river 
they  disabled  the  famous  ram  Manassas,  destroyed  thirteen  gunboats 
and  three  transports,  and  silenced  two  batteries.  On  the  27th  Gen- 
eral Butler  landed  his  troops  above  Fort  St.  Phillips,  and  on  the 
following  day  both  forts  surrendered.  In  the  afternoon  Forts  Living- 
ston and  Pike  were  abandoned,  thus  completing  the  capture  of  every 
point  of  defence  commanding  the  approach  to  the  city. 

After  the  occupation  of  New  Orleans,  Admiral  Farragut  ran 
several  batteries  up  the  river,  and  for  several  weeks  in  1863  was 
engaged  in  blockading  Red  River  and  preventing  supplies  from  cross- 
ing the  Mississippi.  He  co-operated  in  the  capture  of  Vicksburg  and 
Port  Hudson.  The  downfall  of  these  strongholds  ended  his  opera- 
tions in  that  vicinity. 

His  most  brilliant  achievement  was  in  Mobile  Bay,  in  1864,  in 
defeating  the  Confederate  fleet,  which  was  followed  in  a  few  days  by 
the  fall  of  the  forts  and  the  capture  of  the  place.  Nowhere  on  record 
can  there  be  found  a  more  brilliant  series  of  operations  than  these. 
It  raised  his  fame  to  the  highest  point.  In  December,  1864,  he  re- 
ceived the  thanks  of  Congress,  and  the  rank  of  Vice-Admiral  created 
expressly  for  him  ;  and  subsequently  that  of  Admiral,  which  placed 
him  at  the  head  of  the  navy. 

In  1867-68,  in  the  United  States  steam-frigate  Franklin,  he  visited 
Europe,  Africa,  and  Asia,  and  was  everywhere  received  with  the 
highest  honors. 

This  distinguished  hero  died  at  Portsmouth,  K  H.,  on  the  14th  of 
August,  1870. 


CHARLES 


PETTIT  McILVAINE 


The  late  Bishop  Charles  Pettit  Mcllvaine  was  born  at  Burlington, 
New  Jersey,  on  the  18th  of  January,  1798.  He  was  the  son  of  Hon. 
Joseph  Mcllvaine,  representative  of  the  State  of  New  Jersey  in  the 
Senate  of  the  United  States.  After  being  graduated  with  high  honors 
at  Princeton  College,  in  1816,  he  studied  theology  under  the  direction 
of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Charles  Wharton,  of  Burlington  ;  was  admitted  to  dea- 
con's orders  in  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  by  Bishop  White,  on 
the  4th  of  July,  1820 ;  and  was  ordained  priest  by  Bishop  Kemp  in 
1823.  He  settled  in  Georgetown,  D.  C,  and  became  Rector  of  Christ 
Church  in  that  place  in  1820.  While  there  he  made  the  acquaintance  of 
the  Hon.  John  C.  Calhoun,  at  whose  instigation  he  received,  and  was 
induced  to  accept,  an  appointment  as  Chaplain  and  Professor  of  Ethics 
at  the  United  States  Military  Academy  at  West  Point,  in  1825.  Two 
years  later  he  resigned  this  position,  on  being  chosen  Rector  of  St.  Ann's 
Church,  Brooklyn. 

In  1831  he  was  appointed  Professor  of  the  Evidences  of  Revealed 
Religion  and  Sacred  Antiquities  in  the  University  of  the  City  of  New 
York.  In  the  winter  of  1831-32  he  delivered  a  series  of  lectures  on 
the  evidences  of  Christianity  as  a  part  of  the  course  of  instruction  to 
the  students.  In  these  lectures  he  confined  himself  to  the  historical 
branch  of  his  subject ;  the  chief  topics  dwelt  upon  being  the  authen- 
ticity of  the  New  Testament,  the  credibility  of  the  Gospel  history,  its 
divine  authority  as  attested  by  miracles  and  prophecy,  and  the  argu- 
ment in  favor  of  the  truth  of  the  Christian  faith,  to  be  drawn  from  its 
propagation  and  the  fruits  it  has  borne. 

In  October,  1832,  Dr.  Mcllvaine  was  consecrated  Bishop  of  Ohio. 
He  was  the  President  of  Kenyon  College  from  1832  to  1840;  then 
President  of  the  Theological  Seminary  of  the  Diocese  of  Ohio. 

Bishop  Mcllvaine  was  a  contributor  to  many  religious  periodicals, 
and  was  the  author  of  several  addresses  and  other  publications  con- 


CHARLES   PETTIT  McILVAINE, 


demnatory  of  the  "  Oxford  Tracts,"  and  in  1855,  at  the  request  of  the 
convention  of  his  diocese,  published  a  volume  of  twenty-two  sermons, 
entitled  "  The  Truth  and  the  Life."  "  This  volume  of  sermons  is  a 
favorable  specimen  of  Episcopal  pulpit  oratory ;  the  subjects  are  prac- 
tical ;  the  treatment  is  plain  and  searching ;  the  style  at  times  almost 
weighty."  "  They  are  clear  in  their  doctrinal  statements,  forcible  in 
their  illustrations,  and  throughout  breathe  the  spirit  of  the  great 
Teacher." 

"  He  was  distinguished  for  the  soundness  and  clearness  of  his  evan- 
gelical views,  and  for  the  expository  character  of  his  preaching.  That 
for  which  as  a  preacher  he  is  most  eminent  is  his  power  of  illustrating 
Scripture,  and  his  mode  of  doing  this  shows  at  once  the  fulness  and 
accuracy  of  his  knowledge  of  Scripture,  and  the  transparent  simplicity 
of  his  conception.  ...  In  all  his  preaching  he  aims  to  lay  broad  and 
deep  the  foundations  of  Christian  character  in  strong,  clear  views  of 
man's  sinfulness  and  need,  and  Christ's  fulness  and  freeness  as  a 
Saviour." 

The  degree  of  D.C.L.  was  conferred  upon  him  by  the  University 
of  Oxford  in  1853,  and  in  1858  that  of  LL.D.,  from  the  University  of 
Cambridge.  During  the  late  civil  war  he  was  an  active  and  earnest 
member  of  the  Sanitary  and  Christian  commissions,  and  was  chosen  to 
visit  England  to  explain  to  that  government  the  position  of  the  United 
States  in  the  great  and  important  question  then  at  issue. 

As  President  of  the  American  Tract  Society,  Bishop  Mcllvaine,  in 
1871,  although  past  the  age  of  three  score  and  ten,  crossed  the  Atlan- 
tic to  intercede  with  the  Czar  of  Russia  for  the  religious  rights  of  hia 
Protestant  subjects. 

He  died  at  Florence,  Italy,  March  13,  1873. 


BENJAMIN 


FRANKLIN. 


Benjamin  Franklin,  the  youngest  son  of  the  youngest  son  for  five 
generations,  was  born  in  Boston,  January  17, 1706.  His  father,  Josias 
Franklin,  who  was  a  soap  and  candle  maker,  emigrated  from  England, 
and  settled  in  Boston  about  the  year  1685.  He  destined  Benjamin  for 
the  Church,  and  at  eight  years  of  age  sent  him  to  a  grammar-school, 
where  he  remained  less  than  a  year.  His  father,  having  a  family  of 
seventeen  children,  of  whom  Benjamin  was  the  youngest  son  and  the 
fifteenth  child,  to  provide  for,  found  it  would  be  impossible  for  him  to 
bear  the  expenses  of  a  collegiate  education.  After  spending  a  short 
time  in  a  school  where  writing  and  arithmetic  were  taught,  he  was 
called  home  to  assist  his  father  in  his  business,  an  occupation  which 
pleased  young  Benjamin  very  little.  His  inclination  for  books  deter- 
mined his  father  to  make  him  a  printer,  and  he  was  accordingly 
apprenticed  to  his  brother,  for  whom  he  worked  until  his  tyranny  forced 
him  to  break  the  connection. 

The  commencement  of  his  literary  life,  his  pursuit  of  knowledge 
under  difficulties,  are  too  well  known  to  require  comment.  Betaking 
himself  to  Philadelphia  in  1723,  upon  his  arrival  he  wandered  along 
the  streets  eating  that  memorable  roll,  and  with  all  his  worldly  goods 
stuffed  into  his  pockets ;  he  was  observed  by  his  future  wife,  Miss 
Bead,  who  stood  in  her  father's  door.  He  soon  found  employment, 
but  was  induced  by  false  representations  to  go  to  England  the  follow- 
ing year.  With  his  usual  eneigy,  lie  went  to  work  at  his  trade  and 
soon  made  friends  and  a  good  living.  lie  returned  to  America  in 
1726.  Establishing  himself  as  a  printer,  he  purchased  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Gazette  ;  was  married  in  1730  ;  in  1731,  assisted  in  founding  the 
Philadelphia  Library,  the  first  public  library  in  that  city.  The  follow- 
ing year  he  began  to  publish  Poor  Richard's  Almanac,  a  work  which 
continued  popular  for  many  years.  He  was  chosen  clerk  of  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  in  1736  ;  became  deputy  postmaster  in  Philadelphia  in 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN. 


1737  ;  invented  the  stove  which  bears  his  name  in  1742 ;  proposed  the 
American  Philosophical  Society,  in  1743;  established  the  Academy 
out  of  which  the  University  of  Philadelphia  finally  grew,  in  1749. 
He  also  organized  the  first  fire-company,  and  suggested  the  plan  of 
insurance  companies.  On  his  retirement  from  business  with  a  fine  for- 
tune, he  devoted  the  most  of  his  time  to  science,  especially  to  experi- 
ments in  electricity,  the  branch  of  philosophy  which  had  then  been 
least  explored.  His  discoveries  are  world-renowned  ;  one  of  the  most 
important  being  that  of  a  plus  and  minus,  or  a  positive  and  negative 
state  of  electricity.  In  1732,  he  demonstrated  his  theory  of  identity  of 
lightning  with  electricity  by  his  famous  kite  experiment  in  a  field  neai 
Philadelphia. 

He  went  to  England  in  1751,  received  tbe  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Laws  from  the  Universities  of  Edinburgh  and  Oxford,  and  returned  to 
America  in  1762.  Two  years  later  he  again  went  to  England  as  a 
Colonial  agent.  lie  was  a  staunch  patriot ;  helped  to  draft  the  Decla- 
ration of  Independence,  and  was  one  of  its  signers. 

He  was  sent  as  ambassador  to  France,  first  investing  all  his  ready 
money,  $1,500,  in  the  Continental  loan.  Franklin's  influence  at  the 
French  court  was  unbounded.  Through  his  efforts  France  acknowl- 
edged the  Independence  of  the  United  States  and  sent  a  fleet  to  aid 
them  in  their  struggle  for  liberty. 

Personally,  he  was  a  great  favorite  among  his  friends.  He  was 
dignified,  witty,  and  a  charming  conversationalist.  Dr.  Stuber,  in  his 
Life  of  Doctor  Franklin,  gives  the  following  description  of  him  as  a 
member  of  the  General  Assembly  of  Pennsylvania:  "His  style  in 
6peaking  was  like  that  of  his  writing,  simple,  unadorned,  and  remark- 
ably concise.  With  this  plain  manner,  his  penetrating  and  solid  judg- 
ment, he  was  able  to  confound  the  most  eloquent  and  subtle  of  hi?. 

adversaries  With  a  single  observation  he  has  rendered  of  no 

avail  an  elegant  and  lengthy  discourse,  and  determined  the  fate  of  a 
question  of  importance." 

Benjamin  Franklin,  the  celebrated  philosopher,  philanthropist,  and 
statesman,  died  in  Philadelphia,  on  the  17th  of  April,  1790,  at  the  great 
age  of  eighty-four  years  and  three  months,  having  retained  his  full 
powers  of  mind  to  the  last. 


DANIEL  WEBSTER. 


Born  in  the  town  of  Salisbury,  New  Hampshire,  January  18,  1782. 
For  his  earliest  education  he  was  indebted  to  his  mother ;  he  was 
blessed  with  a  most  retentive  memory ;  at  fourteen  he  could  repeat 
several  entire  volumes  of  poetry.  In  1796  he  first  enjoyed  the  privilege 
of  a  few  months'  schooling  at  Phillips  Academy,  Exeter,  then  under  the 
charge  of  Dr.  Abbott.  The  lad — -who  in  after  years,  as  an  eloquent 
orator  and  skilful  statesman,  was  to  stir  the  nation  and  turn  all  eyes 
upon  himself — was  then  so  bashful  that  he  could  not  muster  courage  to 
speak  before  his  companions.  He  said,  "  Many  a  piece  did  I  commit 
and  rehearse  in  my  own  room,  over  and  over  again  ;  yet  when  the  day 
came,  when  my  name  was  called  and  I  saw  all  eyes  turned  towards  me, 
I  could  not  raise  myself  from  my  seat."  His  father,  who  was  a  thrifty 
New  England  farmer,  decided  to  send  him  to  college,  and  accordingly 
young  Daniel  Webster  entered  Dartmouth  College  in  1797. 

He  writes  of  this,  "  I  remember  the  very  hill  we  were  ascending 
through  deep  snow,  in  a  New  England  sleigh,  when  my  father  made 
known  this  purpose  to  me.  I  could  not  speak.  How  could  he,  I 
thought,  with  so  large  a  family,  and  in  such  narrow  circumstances, 
think  of  incurring  so  great  an  expense  for  me?  A  warm  glow  ran  all 
over  me,  and  1  laid  my  head  on  my  father's  shoulder  and  wept." 

Completing  his  collegiate  course  with  high  honor,  he  chose  the  pro- 
fession of  law,  and  pursued  his  legal  studies  under  the  direction  of 
Christopher  Gore  of  Boston,  afterward  Governor  of  Massachusetts.  He 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  the  spring  of  1805,  and  after  practising  a 
year  in  Boscawen,  he  removed  to  Portsmouth,  and  was  admitted  to 
practice  in  the  Supreme  Court  of  New  Hampshire.  Elected  to  Con- 
gress, he  took  his  seat  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  at  the  extra 
May  session  of  1813.  His  maiden  speech,  on  the  repeal  of  the  Berlin 
and  Milan  decree,  at  once  raised  him  to  the  formost  rank  as  a  debater, 
the  head  of  American  orators.  His  speeches  made  while  occupying 
this  position  are  masterpieces,  and  he  soon  became  the  acknowledged 
•eader  of  the  Federal  party  in  New  England.    Retiring  from  Congress 


DANIEL  WEBSTER. 


in  1816,  Mr.  Webster,  for  the  next  seven  years,  devoted  himself  almost 
exclusively  to  the  practice  of  his  profession.  His  efforts  in  the  famous 
Dartmouth  College  case  gave  him  a  prominent  place  in  the  front  rank 
of  able  American  lawyers. 

On  December  22,  1820,  he  delivered  his  celebrated  discourse  at 
Plymouth  on  the  anniversary  of  the  landing  of  the  Pilgrims. 

In  1823  he  again  entered  Congress,  and  three  years  later  was  chosen 
United  States  Senator,  which  office  he  filled  most  acceptably  for  several 
years.  His  great  speech  of  two  days  in  the  debate  with  Mr.  Hayne  on 
the  right  of  "nullification,"  in  which  he  pronounced  the  familiar  words 
"  Liberty  and  Union,  now  and  forever,  one  and  inseparable,"  has  been 
declared  to  be,  next  to  the  Constitution  itself,  "  the  most  correct  and 
complete  exposition  of  the  true  powers  and  functions  of  the  Federal 
Government."  In  1825  he  was  the  orator  of  the  day  on  laying  the 
corner-stone  of  the  Bunker  Hill  Monument,  and  again,  eighteen  years 
afterwards,  on  the  completion  of  the  monument.  In  1839  he  made  a 
short  visit  to  Europe.  The  next  year  President  Harrison  appointed 
him  his  Secretary  of  State ;  and  he  remained  in  the  cabinet  of  Presi- 
dent Tyler  until  1843,  when  he  retired  to  private  life  for  a  short 
time.  In  1845  he  was  again  called  to  the  United  States  Senate,  where 
he  strongly  opposed  the  annexation  of  Texas  and  the  war  with  Mexico, 
yet  sustained  the  administration  after  hostilities  had  really  commenced. 
On  the  death  of  President  Taylor  and  the  accession  of  Fillmore  to  the 
Presidency,  he  called  Mr.  Webster  to  his  cabinet  as  Secretary  of  State. 
He  was  filling  this  responsible  office  when  he  died  on  his  fine  estate  in 
Marshfield,  Massachusetts,  on  the  24th  of  October,  1 852,  at  the  age  of 
seventv  years.  His  death  called  forth  more  orations,  discourses,  and 
sermons,  than  any  other  had  since  that  of  Washington. 

"Mr.  Webster's  person  was  imposing,  of  commanding  height,  and 
well  proportioned,  the  head  of  great  size,  the  eyes  deep-seated,  large 
and  lustrous,  his  voice  powerful  and  sonorous,  his  action  appropriate 
and  impressive.  A  consummate  master  of  argument,  he  touched  not  less 
skilfully  the  cords  of  feeling.  On  great  occasions,  with  or  without 
preparation,  he  had  no  superior."  In  debate  he  usually  came  off  more 
than  conqueror,  though  the  opponents  with  whom  he  contended  were 
the  mightiest  intellects  in  the  land.  He  is  said  seldom  to  have  enli- 
vened  his  argument  with  flashes  of  wit,  but  he  has,  nevertheless,  said 
some  keen  things,  which  have  been  many  times  repeated.  The  record 
of  the  career  of  Daniel  Webster  is  one  that  will  always  hold  a  promi- 
nent place  in  the  history  of  the  United  States. 


(SEPJo  KODfBEKT  IE.  LEE. 


ROBERT 


EDWARD 


LEE. 


The  Lees  were  a  distinguished  Virginian  family  who  held  a  con- 
spicuous  position  in  the  history  of  the  United  States  for  two  centuries. 
Richard  Lee  settled  in  Virginia  about  1GGG.  Two. of  his  descendants, 
grand  uncles  of  the  Confederate  Chieftain,  were  signers  of  the  Declar- 
ation of  Independence  ;  one  of  them,  Richard  Henry  Lee,  was  the 
orator  of  the  Revolution. 

General  Henry  Lee,  the  celebrated  "  Light  Horse  Harry  "  of  Rev- 
olutionary fame,  enjoyed  a  strong  and  intimate  friendship  with  Wash- 
ington, and  in  his  eulog}7,  delivered  before  Congress  in  1799,  occurs  the 
well-known  phrase,  "  First  in  war,  first  in  peace,  and  first  in  the  hearts 
of  his  countrymen." 

His  son,  Robert  E.  Lee,  the  American  Confederate  General,  was 
born  in  January,  1807,  at  the  family  seat  of  Stratford,  Westmoreland 
County,  Virginia.  Young  Lee  passed  his  early  life  quietly  at  home, 
and  at  the  age  of  eighteen  entered  West  Point  as  a  cadet.  Upon  com- 
pleting his  four  years'  course  of  studies,  he  stood  number  two  in  a  class 
of  forty-six,  having  the  additional  honor  of  having  passed  the  entire 
course  without  receiving  a  single  mark  of  demerit.  At  the  expiration 
of  his  cadet  term,  he  immediately  entered  the  service  in  the  corps  of 
Topographical  Engineers.  In  1832,  Lee,  then  second-lieutenant  in  the 
United  States  Army,  married  Miss  Custis,  daughter  of  George  W. 
Parke  Custis,  the  adopted  son  of  George  Washington.  For  several 
years  he  was  employed  on  the  coast  defences.  In  1S36  he  was  made 
first-lieutenant,  and  two  years  later,  captain.  Throughout  the  whole 
of  the  Mexican  War  he  was  Chief-Engineer  on  the  staff  of  Brigadier- 
General  Wool.  His  gallantry  during  the  campaign  won  for  him,  suc- 
cessively, the  brevets  of  major,  lieutenant-colonel,  and  colonel.  Per- 
haps the  most  notable  feature  of  his  service  in  Mexico  was  the  strong 
interest  taken  in  the  young  officer  by  General  Scott,  who  spoke  of  his 
services  with  hearty  approval  and  the  highest  praise.  At  the  close  of 
the  war,  Lee  was  appointed  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Engineers,  and, 


ROBERT   EDWARD  LEE. 


in  1852,  was  made  Superintendent  of  the  Military  Academy  at  West 
Point,  which  position  he  held  until  March,  1855,  when  he  was  ap- 
pointed lieutenant-colonel  of  the  Second  Cavalry.  In  March,  1S61, 
he  was  appointed  colonel  of  the  First  Cavalry,  the  last  position  he 
occupied  in  the  service  of  the  United  States.  Within  a  month  he 
resigned  his  commission  and  threw  in  his  fortunes  with  his  native 
State,  which  seceded  from  the  Union.  General  Scott  had  previously 
expressed  his  intention  of  nominating  him  as  his  successor,  hut  Lee 
sincerely  believed  it  to  be  his  duty  to  act  as  he  did.  He  at  once 
received  the  appointment  of  Major-General,  in  command  of  all  the 
military  forces  in  Virginia,  and  was  soon  after  designated  to  fortify 
.Richmond,  at  that  time  threatened  by  a  formidable  Union  army  under 
the  command  of  General  McClellan,  an  old  companion-in-arms  and 
associate  of  General  Lee's.  The  magnificent  strategy  he  displayed  in 
the  Seven  Days'  fight  made  him  the  most  trusted  of  the  Confederate 
leaders. 

Although  the  campaigns  he  conducted  were  not  always  equally 
fortunate,  for  three  years  he  succeeded  in  baffling  every  attempt  to 
take  Richmond,  which  only  fell  with  the  government  of  which  it  was 
the  capital,  when  the  Union  troops  took  possession  of  it  after  four  long 
years  of  a  fiercely  waged  war.  General  Lee  now  accepted  the  gener- 
ous terms  of  surrender  proposed  by  General  Grant.  Judging  the  acts 
merely  from  a  military  point  of  view,  it  must  be  admitted  by  all  that 
Lee  earned  a  prominent  place  among  the  first  captains  of  the  age. 

In  the  fall  of  1S65,  General  Lee  was  installed  President  of  Wash- 
ington College  in  Lexington,  Virginia.  His  death  occurred  in  that 
place  on  the  12th  of  October,  1870. 

"  As  a  man  Lee  deserved  all  the  respect  and  affection  with  which 
he  was  regarded.  All  men  admitted  his  high  sense  of  honor,  his  unos- 
tentatious practice  of  all  the  Christian  virtues,  his  true  religious  feel- 
ing, his  calm  endurance  of  untoward  results,  and  his  quiet  observance 
of  the  duties  of  life.  Indeed,  the  key  to  his  action  is  to  be  found  in 
the  letter  to  his  son,  where  he  says,  '  Duty  is  the  sublimest  word  in 
our  language.'  No  one  doubted  his  purity  of  motive.  In  manner, 
quiet,  courteous,  and  dignified  ;  in  morals,  irreproachable  ;  in  intellect, 
strong,  clear,  and  self-poised  ;  a  gentleman  by  habit,  instinct,  and 
descent ;  a  Christian,  not  only  exact  in  the  observances  of  his  Church, 
but  illustrating  his  faith  by  his  daily  doing ;  he  was  one  of  the  few 
marked  men  of  his  time — one  of  those  who  are  beloved  while  living, 
and  venerated  when  dead." 


JAMES    OSGOOD  ANDREW. 


James  Osgood  Andrew,  an  American  clergyman,  one  of  the  bishope 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South,  was  born  near  the  town  of 
Washington,  Wilkes  County,  Georgia,  on  the  3d  of  May,  1794.  His 
father,  a  native  of  Liberty  County,  in  common  with  many  of  his  fellow- 
citizens,  took  up  arms  in  defense  of  his  country,  and  was  in  several 
engagements  under  Sumter  and  Screven.  Having  lost  the  greater 
part  of  his  property  in  the  Revolutionary  struggle,  he  moved  to  Colum- 
bia County,  and  shortly  afterwards  became  a  member  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  and  subsequently  a  minister,  being,  probably,  the 
first  native  Georgian  who  entered  the  itinerant  ministry  of  that  church. 
His  mother  was  one  among  the  first  converts  to  Methodism  in  Georgia. 

Mr.  Andrew's  recollections  of  his  childnood  were  associated  with 
his  father's  farm  in  Elbert  County.  He  went  to  a  common  school, 
kept  by  a  teacher  who  made  it  a  practice  to  give  his  pupil  one  or  two 
whippings  every  day,  not  for  improper  conduct,  but  because  he  did  not 
hold  his  pen  to  please  him,  or  write  such  a  hand  as  suited  him. 

He  was  licensed  to  preach  at  the  early  age  of  eighteen,  and  at 
the  session  of  the  South  Carolina  Conference,  was  received  into  the 
itinerancy,  and  actively  engaged  in  discharging  the  arduous  duties  pecu- 
liar to  a  minister  of  the  Methodist  Church.  At  the  General  Confer- 
ence of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  held  at  Philadelphia,  in  1832, 
he  was  elected  and  ordained  Bishop.  In  1844,  the  General  Con- 
ference held  at  New  York,  regarding  it  as  a  very  grave  offence  that 
Bishop  Andrew  had  become  the  owner  of  a  few  slaves  (being  the 
property  of  the  lady  who  became  his  second  wife),  passed  resolutions 
deposing  him  from  his  office,  "so  long  as  that  impediment  remained." 
The  southern  delegates  considering  this  a  virtual  suspension  from  the 
episcopal  office,  and  therefore  extra-judicial  and  unconstitutional,  en- 
tered their  protest.  The  result  was  a  division  of  the  church  into  two 
independent  jurisdictions,  with  an  equitable  apportionment  of  the 


JAMiiS  OSGOOD  ANDREW. 


church  property.  The  southern  division,  at  their  first  conference,  re- 
solved that  a  distinct  church  he  formed,  to  be  known  by  the  style  and 
title  of  "  The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South."  At  this  meeting 
it  was  also  resolved  that  Bishops  Soule  and  Andrew  be  cordially  re- 
quested to  become  regular  and  constitutional  Bishops  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  South,  which  invitation  both  of  the  reverend  gentlemen 
accepted.  Bishop  Andrew  continued  to  exercise  his  episcopal  functions 
till  1868,  when  he  retired  from  active  duty  on  account  of  age,  and  died 
at  Mobile,  Alabama,  March  2,  1871. 

Under  the  somewhat  stern  exterior,  and  broad,  strongly  marked  fea- 
tures of  Bishop  Andrew,  there  beat  a  soft  and  gentle  heart ;  the  solemn 
gravity  of  his  look  when  in  repose,  or  when  performing  any  ministerial 
service,  would  have  misled  an  unpractised  eye  in  judging  of  his  char- 
acter ;  a  stranger  would  never  have  dreamed,  that  the  rugged  coun- 
tenance could  soften  into  beauty,  grow  radiant  with  humor,  and  beam 
with  a  magnetic  love,  as  the  brightest  waters  gush  from  among  craggy 
rocks,  and  the  sweetest  flowers  bloom  amid  thorns.  He  was,  both 
by  nature  and  by  grace,  gentle  as  a  nurse  cherishing  her  children,  soft 
as  a  dove  cooing  to  its  mate,  meek  as  a  Christian  praying  for  his 
enemies.  As  a  husband,  and  father,  and  host,  there  was  the  most 
harmonious  blending  of  authority  and  love,  genial  tenderness  and 
parental  government  with  the  most  affectionate  intercourse  ;  an  open, 
hearty  hospitality,  with  the  most  informal  politeness.  As  a  preacher 
he  was  somewhat  unique.  He  had  no  model.  He  stood  alone.  He 
was  original,  not  so  much  by  creative  power  as  by  his  peculiar  style 
of  appropriation.  He  never  dwelt  on  propositions  ;  he  had  nothing  to 
do  with  divisions,  firstly,  secondly,  thirdly,  and  lastly.  He  dealt  with 
one  great  leading  idea,  and  that  idea  he  made  to  revolve  upon  its  own 
axis,  until  every  spot  of  its  surface  was  bathed  in  sunlight.  On  some 
of  his  favorite  themes,  when  his  mind  was  full,  the  opening  of  his 
mouth  was  like  the  letting  out  of  many  waters :  nor  was  it  a  thin 
sheet  turned  into  spray  and  descending  in  mist,  but  a  thundering 
volume,  that  rushed  and  roared  and  swept  on  resistlessly. 

After  retiring  from  his  active  duties,  having  passed  his  threescore 
years  and  ten,  it  was  a  beautiful  thing  to  see  the  old  man  visit  the 
churches  where  he  had  preached  ;  and  as  he  stood  up,  leaning  upon  his 
stuff,  not  as  a  veteran  slumbering  on  his  arms,  but  a  warrior,  sword  in 
hand,  talking  to  them  in  sweet  farewell,  persuaded  that  he  should  see 
their  faces  no  more  in  the  flesh,  and  yet  inviting  them  to  come  on  to 
Heaven. 


NATHANIEL   PARKER  WILLIS. 


The  "Willis  family  trace  back  their  descent  to  George  Willis,  who 
was  born  in  England  in  1602,  and  who  was  admitted  "  Freeman  of 
Massachusetts  "  in  1638.  Nathaniel  Willis,  the  grandfather  of  N.  P. 
Willis,  took  part  in  the  famous  "Tea  Party"  of  1773.  Nathaniel 
Willis,  the  father  of  the  poet,  was  a  political  publisher  and  editor. 
His  mother,  the  daughter  of  Solomon  Parker,  of  Massachusetts,  was  a 
woman  of  remarkable  talents,  piety  and  benevolence.  Nathaniel  Par- 
ker Willis,  was  born  in  Portland,  January  20,.  1807.  While  in  Yale 
College  he  published  several  religious  poems  under  the  signature  of 
"  Roy,"  and  won  a  prize  of  fifty  dollars  for  the  best  poem,  offered  by 
"  The  Album,"  a  gift-book  published  by  Lockwood. 

After  his  graduation  in  1827,  he  became  the  editor  of  The  Legen- 
dary. The  following  year  he  established  the  American  Monthly 
Magazine  which  he  conducted  until  1831,  when,  upon  deciding  to 
make  a  long  wished-for  visit  to  Europe,  he  merged  it  in  the  New  York 
Mirror.  An  account  of  the  next  four  years  of  travelling  and  adven- 
tures is  given  to  the  public  in  his  "  Pencillings  by  the  way,"  which  he 
contributed  to  the  Mirror. 

While  in  Paris,  Mr.  Rives,  the  American  Minister,  attached  him 
to  his  Legation,  and  with  this  privilege  he  made,  leisurely,  visits  to  the 
different  courts  and  capitals  of  Europe  and  the  East.  After  residing 
for  two  years  in  England,  Mr.  Willis,  in  1835,  married  Mary  Leighton 
Stace,  daughter  of  the  Commissary-General  William  Stace,  and  im- 
mediately returned  to  the  United  States,  and  spent  the  ensuing  four 
years  in  the  valley  of  the  Susquehanna.  While  here  in  his  rural  home, 
"  Glenmary,"  he' wrote  "  Letters  from  Under  a  Bridge."  A  series  of 
financial  embarrassments  caused  him  to  go  to  New  York,  where  he  es- 
tablished, in  connection  with  Dr.  Porter,  The  Corsair,  a  weekly 
journal.  He  made  a  short  trip  to  England,  where  he  engaged  Mr. 
Thackeray  to  write  for  the  Coisair.     While  abroad  he  published  a 


NATHANIEL  PARKER  WILLIS. 


number  of  his  writings.  Finding  on  his  return  to  New  York  that  his 
partner  had  abandoned  their  project  in  discouragement,  Mr.  Willis, 
with  General  Morris,  established  the  Evening  Mirror.  His  health 
giving  way  under  this  new  occupation,  he  was  again  compelled  to  go 
abroad.  Soon  after  his  return,  the  partners  became  co-editors  of  the 
Home  Journal,  which  was  better  adapted  to  both,  and  proved  to  be 
an  eminently  successful  enterprise.  Ilis  second  marriage  took  place 
in  1845.  His  wife  was  the  only  daughter  of  Hon.  Joseph  Grinnell, 
member  of  Congress  from  Massachusetts.  Sketches  of  the  last  years 
of  his  life  are  given  in  his  "  Health  Trip  to  the  Tropics," — a  description 
of  his  journey  among  the  West  India  Islanders — his  "  Letters  from 
Idlewild,"  and  in  his  contributions  to  the  Home  Journal,  written  on 
his  journeys.  The  contributions  of  Mr.  Willis  to  the  different  periodi- 
cals upon  which  he  had  been  engaged,  have  been  collected  into  nine 
volumes.  For  a  space  of  about  twenty  years  he  had  written  weekly 
through  these  journals,  and  all  his  articles  are  characterized  by  a  keen 
perception  of  the  affairs  of  life  and  the  world  ;  and  are  written  with 
invariable  care  and  finish.  The  poetry  of  Mr.  Willis  is  certainly 
original  and  extremely  musical.  The  versification  of  his  "Sacred 
Poems  "  is  remarkably  smooth.  These  poems  have  gained  the  author 
considerable  reputation,  and  form  a  source  of  genuine  pleasure  to  the 
appreciative  reader.  He  had  also  written  a  novel,  in  rhyme,  "  Lady 
Jane." 

"As  a  traveller  Mr.  Willis  had  no  superior  in  representing  the 
humors  and  experiences  of  the  world.  He  was  sympathetic,  witty, 
observant,  and  at  the  same  time  inventive.  Looking  at  the  world 
through  a  pair  of  eyes  of  his  own,  he  found  material  where  others  would 
see  nothing;  indeed  some  of  his  greatest  triumphs  in  this  line  have  been 
in  his  rural  sketches  from  Glenmary  and  Idlewild,  continued  with 
novelty  and  spirit,  long  after  most  clever  writers  would  have  cried  out 
that  straw  and  clay  too,  for  their  brick,  had  been  exhausted." 

During  the  latter  years  of  his  life,  Mr.  Willis  was  a  great  sufferer, 
but  in  spite  of  the  repeated  warnings  of  his  physician,  he  continued 
his  regular  contributions  to  his  paper,  and  finally  his  oft-expressed  wish, 
"  to  die  in  the  harness,"  was  fulfilled  on  the  20th  of  January,  1867,  his 
Bixtieth  birthday. 


EDWARD  EVERETT. 


The  Everetts  were  a  New  England  family,  honest,  hardworking 
sturdy  farmers  and  mechanics.  Oliver  Everett,  a  son  of  one  of  the 
farmers,  was  for  a  few  years  pastor  of  the  Old  South  Church  in  Boston, 
and  after  leaving  the  ministry,  was  made  a  Judge  of  the  Court  of  Com- 
mon Pleas  for  Norfolk.  His  son,  Edward  Everett,  was  born  in  Dor- 
chester, Massachusetts,  on  the  11th  of  April,  1794.  His  early  educa- 
tion was  obtained,  almost  exclusively,  at  the  public  schools  in  Dorchester 
and  Boston.  After  spending  six  months  under  the  tuition  of  Dr.  Abbott, 
at  the  Exeter  Academy,  he  entered  Harvard  College  in  1807,  the 
youngest  member  of  the  class.  He  was  the  chief  contributor  to  a 
college  magazine,  and  at  the  end  of  four  years,  graduated  with  the 
highest  honors  of  his  class,  having  just  passed  his  seventeenth  birthday. 

The  following  year  he  was  appointed  tutor  in  the  college,  and  held 
that  position  until  1834.  Under  the  influence  of  his  friend  and  pastor, 
Reverend  J.  S.  Buckminster,  he  was  induced  to  select  the  profession 
of  Theology.  Devoting  himself  to  his  clerical  studies,  he  won  such 
high  regard,  that,  upon  the  death  of  Buckminster,  he  was  appointed  his 
successor  in  the  Brattle  Street  Church  in  Boston.  While  here  he 
wrote  his  "  Defence  of  Christianity."  In  1815  he  was  invited  by  the 
Corporation  to  become  Professor  of  Greek  Literature  at  Harvard. 
Accepting  the  appointment,  he  was  allowed  the  privilege  of  travelling 
in  Europe  in  order  to  perfect  himself  for  the  duties  to  which  he  was 
called.  In  the  fall  of  1819,  he  returned  to  America  after  spending  a 
most  profitable  four  years  and  a  half  abroad.  Shortly  after  he  assumed 
the  editorial  charge  of  the  "  North  American  Review,"  and  continued 
to  discharge  the  duties  of  that  post,  in  addition  to  those  required  of 
him  as  a  Professor,  for  four  years,  when  his  connection  with  it  ceased, 
though  he  still  contributed  to  its  pages.  In  August,  1824,  Mr.  Everett 
delivered  an  address  on  " The  Circumstances  Eavorable  to  the  Pro- 
gress of  Literature  in  America,"  before  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  Society  at 


EDWARD  EVERETT. 


Cambridge.  This  at  once  established  his  fame  as  an  orator.  The  same 
year  he  was  elected  to  the  House  of  Representatives,  and  was  re-elected 
to  his  seat  in  Congress  for  five  successive  terms.  In  1835,  he  received 
the  nomination  of  Governor  of  Massachusetts,  was  elected,  and  continued 
to  fill  this  office  for  four  successive  annual  elections.  After  the  expi- 
ration of  his  last  term  of  office,  Mr.  Everett  again  visited  Europe,  and 
while  there  received  the  appointment  of  resident  minister  at  the  British 
Court.  He  was  successful  in  his  important  mission,  made  occasional 
addresses  at  agricultural  and  other  celebrations ;  and,  aside  from  his 
popularity  as  a  public  man,  became  personally  a  general  favorite  with 
the  leading  men  of  England.  The  honorary  degree  of  Doctor  of  Civil 
Law  was  conferred  upon  him  by  the  Universities  of  Oxford  and  Cam- 
bridge. 

After  his  return  to  America,  he  was  elected  President  of  Harvard, 
a  position  he  held  until  his  ill  health  compelled  him  to  resign  it  in  1849. 

In  1S52,  President  Fillmore  called  upon  him  to  again  enter  public 
life  as  Secretary  of  State,  the  death  of  Daniel  Webster  having  left  that 
office  vacant.  The  next  year  he  was  elected  Senator  by  the  Legislature 
of  Massachusetts,  but  was  compelled  to  resign  his  seat  in  the  spring  of 
the  following  year,  by  the  command  of  his  physician.  Rest  restored 
him,  and  he  now  entered  upon  a  new  field  of  labor.  He  took  upon 
himself  the  patriotic  task  of  assisting  the  Ladies'  Mount  "Vernon  Asso- 
ciation in  raising  funds  for  the  purchase  of  the  House  of  Washington, 
to  be  held  as  a  perpetual  gift  to  the  people  of  the  United  States.  His 
Oration  on  Washington  was  delivered  more  than  a  hundred  times,  pro- 
ducing for  the  fund  nearly  fifty-seven  thousand  dollars.  His  address 
in  aid  of  benevolent  institutions  won  for  them  at  least  a  hundred 
thousand  dollars.  "  His  reputation  as  an  orator,  his  graceful  action, 
the  charm  of  his  glowing  eloquence,  the  interest  of  his  subject  matter, 
the  skill  with  which  he  ever  blended  the  useful  and  agreeable,  have 
always  found  attention,  and  when  it  was  found  he  might  be  secured  at 
call — for  the  sake  of  the  patriotic  object  on  which  he  was  bent — appli- 
cations came  to  him  from  all  parts  of  the  country." 

In  1860  Mr.  Everett  was  nominated  for  Vice-President  by  the 
Union  Party,  but,  as  he  had  anticipated,  was  not  elected.  He  died 
suddenly  on  the  15th  of  January,  1865.  No  one  of  our  statesmen  have 
been  more  deservedly  honored. 

Mr.  Everett's  face  indicated  the  scholar  and  the  gentleman  ;  he  was 
erect  as  a  liberty-pole,  of  perfect  mould,  pale  features,  blue  eyes, 
towering  brow,  grey  hair,  and  with  a  mouth  and  chin  finely  cut. 


MAJ.  GEE".  G-EORG-E  H.THOMAS,  TJ.  S.  A. 


GEORGE    HENRY  THOMAS. 


The  very  impersonation  of  honesty,  integrity,  and  honor  was  Gen- 
eral Thomas ;  the  beau  ideal  of  the  soldier  and  gentleman.  lie  was 
born  in  Southampton  County,  Virginia,  July  31, 1816.  His  father  waa 
of  Welsh,  and  his  mother  of  French  Huguenot  descent.  After  study- 
ing law  for  some  time,  he  entered  as  a  cadet  the  Military  Academy 
at  West  Point,  graduating  June  30,  1840,  and  was  commissioned  as 
second  Lieutenant  in  the  Third  Artillery,  and  sent  to  Florida  ;  served 
with  distinction  in  the  Mexican  War,  where  he  earned  the  brevet  of 
Captain,  having  served  with  distinction  at  Monterey  and  Buena  Vista. 
After  serving  against  the  Seminole  Indians  in  1849-50,  he  was  trans- 
ferred to  West  Point  as  instructor  of  artillery  and  cavalry,  March  28, 
1851.  On  the  12th  of  May,  1855,  he  was  appointed  to  the  Second  Cav- 
alry as  Major,  and  served  with  that  regiment  in  Texas,  in  the  Red  River 
and  Kiowa  expeditions,  and  was  wounded  August  26,  1860,  near  Clear 
Fork  of  Brazos  River. 

The  great  civil  war  found  him  at  his  post,  true  and  firm,  amid 
the  terrible  pressure  he  encountered  by  reason  of  his  birth-place,  Vir- 
ginia. He  was  ordered  to  Carlisle  Barracks,  to  remount  the  Second 
Cavalry,  became  lieutenant-colonel  of  his  regiment  April  25,  and  colo- 
nel May  3,  1861.  He  commanded  a  brigade  in  action  at  Falling 
Waters,  July  2,  also  at  Martinsburg,  and  at  Bunker  Hill.  President 
Lincoln  commissioned  him  brigadier-general  of  volunteers,  August  17, 
1861,  sending  him  to  Kentucky  in  command  of  a  division  of  the  Army 
of  Ohio.  There  his  services  were  constant  and  eminent  in  the  highest 
degree.  He  won  the  first  battle  in  the  West,  at  Mill  Spring,  Kentucky, 
and  from  first  to  last,  without  a  day's  or  an  hour's  intermission,  he  was 
at  his  post  of  duty,  rising  steadily  and  irresistibly  through  all  the 
grades  to  the  one  he  held  as  Major-General  of  the  regular  army  at  the 
time  of  his  death.  At  Shiloh,  Corinth,  Perry ville,  Stone  River,  and  at 
Chickamauga,  where  he  checked  the  enemy's  advance,  standing  firm 


GEORGE   HENRY  THOMAS. 


when  tlie  rest  of  the  army  had  been  routed;  in  the  battles  of  Mission 
Kidge,  Ringgold,  Dal  ton,  Resaca,  Cassville,  Dallas,  Ivenesaw,  siege  of 
Atlanta,  assault  on  Jonesborough,  and  capture  of  Atlanta,  defending 
Tennessee  against  General  Hood  ;  winning  the  battle  of  Franklin,  aud 
by  completely  routing  the  Confederate  Army  at  Nashville,  he  fulfilled 
the  proudest  hopes  of  his  ardent  friends,  and  at  the  close  of  the  war 
General  George  H.  Thomas  stood  in  the  very  front  rank  of  our  war 
generals.  He  received  the  thanks  of  Congress  for  his  eminent  services, 
and  also  from  the  Legislature  of  Tennessee  a  vote  of  thanks  and  a 
gold  medal.  He  was  made  Major-General,  June  27,  1865,  and  March 
11,  1807,  was  assigned  to  the  command  of  the  Third  Military  District, 
under  the  reconstruction  act  of  Congress,  embracing  the  States  of 
Georgia,  Florida,  and  Alabama.  In  February,  18G8,  President  John- 
son having  offered  him  the  brevet  of  lieutenant-general,  he  declined 
the  compliment,  saying  he  had  done  nothing  since  the  war  to  merit 
such  promotion.  He  was  afterwards  for  some  time  in  command  of  the 
department  of  the  Cumberland,  which  was  discontinued  by  an  order  of 
March  16,  1869,  which  assigned  him  to  the  command  of  the  military 
division  of  the  Pacific.  To  this  post  he  soon  after  repaired,  making 
his  headquarters  at  San  Francisco,  where  he  died  March  28,  1870. 
Though  lie  left  no  child  to  bear  his  name,  the  old  Army  of  the  Cum- 
berland— numbered  by  tens  of  thousands — called  hiin  father,  and  wept 
for  hiin  tears  of  manly  grief. 

One  of  the  most  striking  traits  in  the  character  of  General  Thomas 
we  hold  up  for  the  admiration  and  example  of  the  young;  it  was  his 
complete  and  entire  devotion  to  duty.  Though  sent  to  Florida,  to 
Mexico,  to  Texas,  and  Arizona,  when  duty  there  was  absolute  banish- 
ment, he  went  cheerfully,  and  never  asked  a  personal  favor,  exemption, 
or  leave  of  absence.  In  battle  he  never  wavered.  Firm  and  full  of 
faith  in  his  cause  he  knew  it  would  prevail,  and  he  never  sought  ad- 
vancement of  rank  or  honor  at  the  expense  of  any  one.  Whatever  he 
earned  of  these  were  his  own,  and  no  one  disputed  his  right. 


ALBERT  BARNES. 


The  above-named  illustrious  American  divine,  and  author  of  the 
series  of  Popular  Biblical  Commentaries,  was  born  at  Rome,  New  York, 
December  1,  1798.  He  received  his  education  at  Hamilton  College, 
from  which  institution  he  graduated  in  1S20,  having  at  that  time  the 
intention  of  becoming  a  lawyer.  Afterward,  however,  under  the  con- 
viction that  it  was  his  duty  to  enter  the  ministry,  he  studied  with  that 
end  in  view,  at  the  Princeton  Theological  Seminary,  and  three  years 
after  his  graduation  from  Hamilton  College  he  was  licensed  to  preach. 
He  officiated  in  various  churches,  and  in  1825  was  installed  pastor  of 
the  First  Presbyterian  Church  in  Morristown,  N.  J.  Five  years  later 
he  was  called  to  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Philadelphia,  where 
he  discharged  his  duties  faithfully  for  many  years  ;  his  failing  health 
and  eyesight  causing  him  to  resign  his  charge  in  1867.  Mr.  Barnes 
was  distinguished  as  an  eloquent  preacher,  and  is  widely  known  as 
an  author  and  commentator.  His  "  Notes  "  on  various  parts  of  the 
Scriptures,  which  gained  a  wide-spread  reputation  for  him,  were  com- 
menced during  his  residence  at  Morristown,  and  were  originally  pre- 
pared as  lectures  to  his  own  congregations.  He  has  published  notes  on 
Job,  Isaiah,  and  Daniel,  while  the  Book  of  Psalms  was  always  a  favorite 
study  of  his.  His  reputation  as  a  commentator  rests  principally  upon 
his  Notes  on  the  New  Testament,  comprising  the  Gospels,  the  Acts,  and 
all  the  Epistles.  Before  his  death  these  notes — in  all,  eleven  books — had 
reached  a  circulation  of  a  million  volumes,  and  one  of  his  last  acts  Avas 
a  thorough  revision  of  them  for  a  new  edition.  No  other  works  of  this 
class  have  ever  had  so  wide  a  circulation.  They  have  been  very  gene- 
rally adopted  in  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain,  for  the  use  of 
their  Sunday  Schools  and  Bible  Classes,  for  which  they  are  especially 
adapted.  They  have  been  translated  into  foreign  languages,  and,  par- 
tially at  least,  into  the  dialects  of  some  of  the  Oriental  nations. 

"  In  his  pastoral  relations  and  oersonal  character  Mr.  Barnes  was 


ALBERT  BARNES. 


highly  esteemed,  as  well  as  for  his  eloquence  in  the  pulpit.  By 
adopting  the  habit  of  writing  at  an  early  hour,  he  was  able  to  pre- 
pare the  long  series  of  volumes  to  which  the  commentaries  extend, 
without  any  interference  with  the  ordinary  routine  of  his  daily  duties, 
all  of  the  volumes  to  which  we  have  referred  having  been  composed 
before  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning. 

"  His  life  and  works  strikingly  exhibit  the  fruits  of  a  pure  and  keen 
conscience,  and  for  conscience'  sake  he  repeatedly  declined  the  well- 
earned  title  of  Doctor  of  Divinity. 

"  His  writings  are  clear,  incisive,  and  plain,  richer  in  matter  and 
method  than  style." 

He  contributed  a  great  many  articles  to  periodicals,  and  published 
several  other  works  besides  those  already  mentioned,  also  several  volumes 
of  sermons,  and  a  series  of  Sunday  School  question-books. 

Near  the  close  of  his  useful,  busy  life,  when  he  had  himself  reached 
that  age,  he  wrote  Life  at  Threescore  and  Ten,  from  which  the  fol- 
lowing is  an  extract.  "  Most  men  in  active  life  look  forward,  with  fond 
anticipation,  to  a  time  when  the  cares  of  life  will  be  over,  and  when 
they  will  be  released  from  its  responsibilities  and  burdens  ;  if  not  with 
an  absolute  desire  that  such  a  time  should  come,  yet  with  a  feeling  that 
it  will  be  a  relief  when  it  does  come.  .  .  .  What  merchant  and  profes- 
sional man,  what  statesman,  does  not  look  forward  to  such  a  time  of 
repose,  and  anticipate  a  season — perhaps  a  long  one — of  calm  tranquil- 
lity before  life  shall  end  ;  and  when  the  time  approaches,  though  the 
hope  often  proves  fallacious,  yet  its  approach  is  not  unwelcome." 

On  the  24th  of  December,  1870,  the  Rev.  Albert  Barnes  went  to 
make  a  social  call  on  a  friend  in  West  Philadelphia,  and  died  suddenly 
but  peacefully,  while  sitting  in  a  chair.  Dr.  March  wrote  in  a  Memoir 
attached  to  Mr.  Barnes'  last  works:  "  There  has  been  no  other  like  him 
in  all  our  American  history.  I  look  the  world  over  in  vain  to  find  his 
equal  in  the  rare  combination  of  meekness  and  courage,  quietness  and 
strength,  modesty  and  worth,  self-command  and  self-control,  friendship 
for  man  and  devotion  to  God,  simplicity  of  private  life  and  power  over 
millions  to  teach  them  the  word  of  truth.  He  has  passed  away  in  the 
glory  of  his  great  manhood,  in  the  eternal  prime  of  virtue,  faith,  and 
Christian  honor." 


GEORGE    WILLIAM  CURTIS. 


Tins  distinguished  American  author  is  a  native  of  Providence, 
R.  L,  where  he  was  born  Feb.  24,  1824.  He  is  a  descendant  on  his 
mother's  side,  of  Senator  Burrill  of  Rhode  Island,  who  made  a  well- 
remembered  speech  in  Congress  on  the  Missouri  Compromise  Bill. 
George  W.  Curtis  received  his  early  education  in  a  private  school  at 
Jamaica  Plains,  Mass.  When  he  was  fifteen  he  came  to  New  York 
with  his  father  and  family,  where  for  a  year  he  was  employed  as  a 
clerk  in  a  mercantile  house.  At  the  end  of  that  time  he  returned  to 
his  books,  continuing  his  studies  until  he  was  eighteen,  when  he  went 
with  his  brother  to  West  Roxbury,  Mass.,  where  he  spent  a  year  and  a 
half  on  a  farm.  After  this  he  went  to  Concord,  Mass.,  where  he 
passed  a  similar  period,  engaged  in  agriculture  and  study,  and  enjoy- 
ing the  society  of  Emerson  and  Hawthorne. 

In  1S46  Mr.  Curtis  sailed  for  Europe,  spending  a  long  time  in 
travelling  over  the  various  portions  of  that  Continent,  and  visiting 
Egypt  and  Syria  before  his  return  home.  Upon  his  return  to  the 
United  States  in  1850,  he  published  his  first  book,  "  Nile  Notes  of  a 
Howadji."  He  soon  after  joined  the  editorial  staff  of  the  New  York 
Tribune.  During  the  following  summer  he  wrote  a  series  of  letters 
to  the  Tribune  from  fashionable  watering-places,  which  were  subse- 
quently collected  in  a  volume  entitled  "  Lotus  Eating." 

In  1852  Putnam's  Monthly  was  commenced  in  New  York,  and 
Mr.  Curtis  became  one  of  the  original  editors  and  was  connected  with 
it  until  the  magazine  ceased  to  exist,  lie  sank  his  private  fortune 
in  attempting  to  save  its  creditors  from  loss  by  the  failure  of  the  pub- 
lishers, and  finally  succeeded.  Some  of  his  contributions  to  the  maga- 
zine were  published  under  the  titles  of  "  Potiphar  Papers,"  and  "  Prue 
and  I." 

In  the  winter  of  1852  he  entered  the  field  as  a  lyceum  lecturer  and 
met  with  great  success  in  different  parts  of  the  country.    He  has  won 


GEORGE   WILLIAM  CURTIS. 


and  now  holds  a  high  rank  as  a  popular  orator ;  having  delivered  sev- 
eral memorable  orations  and  poems  before  various  literary  societies. 
In  the  presidential  election  of  1S56  he  enlisted  with  great  zeal  on 
behalf  of  the  republican  party,  as  a  public  speaker.  Mr.  Curtis  was 
a  delegate  to  the  republican  national  conventions  of  I860  and  of  1864, 
which  nominated  Mr.  Lincoln  ;  and  in  the  latter  year  he  became  the 
republican  candidate  for  Congress  in  the  first  district  of  New  York, 
but  was  defeated.  In  the  winter  of  1858  he  delivered  a  lecture  enti- 
tled "  Fair  Play  for  Women,"  in  which  he  advocated  the  rights  of 
woman.  Daring  this  year  and  the  following  he  wrote  "  Trumps,"  a 
novel,  for  Harjj>er,s  Weekly,  which  was  afterwards  published  in  a 
volume.  This  romance  of  the  foibles  and  follies  of  fashionable  life  is 
a  keen  study  of  American  society  by  a  master  of  refined  satire,  rich 
in  pure  sentiment,  and  lacking,  if  at  all,  only  in  the  power  of  passion- 
ate feeling. 

lie  has  been  a  constant  contributor  to  the  current  literature  of  the 
day  for  almost  a  quarter  of  a  century.  In  1S5S  he  began  a  series  of 
"  Lounger  "  papers  in  Harper's  Weekly  ;  and  six  years  later  he  became 
the  political  editor  of  that  journal.  He  is  the  author  of  the  "  Easy 
Chair"  in  Harper's  Monthly  Magazine  /  and  since  the  issue  of  Har- 
per's  Bazar  he  has  written  for  it  a  series  of  papers  on  "  Manners  on 
the  Road,  by  an  Old  Bachelor,"  which  were  continued  weekly  until 
the  spring  of  1873,  a  space  of  over  six  years. 

Mr.  Curtis  has  been  quite  prominent  in  politics.  In  1S62  Presi- 
dent Lincoln  offered  him  the  post  of  Consul-General  in  Egypt,  but  he 
declined  the  position.  Two  years  later  he  became  one  of  the  regents 
of  the  University  of  the  State  of  New  York.  In  1S67  he  was  elected 
one  of  the  delegates  at  large  to  the  constitutional  convention  of  New 
York,  in  which  he  was  chairman  of  the  committee  on  education.  The 
following  year  he  was  a  republican  presidential  elector.  In  18T1  Pres- 
ident Grant  appointed  him  one  of  a  commission  to  draw  up  rules  for 
the  regulation  of  the  civil  service ;  and  he  was  elected  chairman  of 
the  commission  and  of  the  advisory  board  in  which  it  was  subse- 
quently merged.    He  resigned  his  position  in  March,  1873. 

Although  Mr.  Curtis  has  written  comparatively  little  in  book-form 
of  late  years,  his  various  contributions  to  the  periodicals  published  by 
the  Harpers  would  fill  many  a  large  volume. 


MARTHA  WASHINGTON. 


The  first  lady  who  bore  the  honors  of  a  wife  of  the  President  of  the 
United  States  was  Martha  Washington.  At  the  time  of  her  marriage 
with  George  Washington,  she  is  described  as  a  small,  plump,  elegantly- 
formed  woman.  "  Her  eyes  were  dark,  and  expressive  of  the  most 
kindly  good  nature ;  her  complexion  fair ;  her  features  beautiful ;  and 
her  whole  face  beamed  with  intelligence.  Iler  temper,  though  quick, 
was  sweet  and  placable,  and  her  manners  were  extremely  winning. 
She  was  full  of  life  ;  loved  the  society  of  her  friends;  always  dressed 
with  a  scrupulous  regard  to  the  requirements  of  the  best  fashions  of  the 
day,  and  was,  in  every  respect,  a  brilliant  member  of  the  social  circle 
which  before  the  Revolution  composed  the  vice-regal  court  at  the  old 
Virginia  capital." 

Very  little  is  told  of  her  childhood  ;  she  was  born  in  Virginia,  in 
May,  1732.  Later,  as  Miss  Dandridge,  she  enjoyed  the  best  society  of 
Williamsburg.  At  the  age  of  seventeen,  she  married  Daniel  Parke 
Custis,  only  son  of  Colonel  John  Custis,  one  of  the  King's  Counsellors 
for  Virginia. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Custis  took  up  their  abode  at  the  White  House,  on  the 
bank  of  the  Pamunky  River,  not  far  from  her  father's  plantation.  There 
she  passed  her  days  most  happily  until,  in  the  summer  of  1757,  Colonel 
Custis  died,  leaving  his  wife,  at  the  age  of  twenty-five,  one  of  the  wealth- 
iest widows  in  Virginia,  with  the  charge  of  the  estate,  and  the  manage- 
ment of  the  two  remaining  children  of  their  four. 

The  meeting  of  George  Washington  and  Mrs.  Martha  Custis  is  well 
known.  They  were  married  on  the  6th  of  January,  1759,  and  Mount 
Vernon,  for  the  first  time,  was  graced  with  the  presence  of  a  mistress — 
one  fully  worthy  to  fill  that  position.  Her  life  here  was  similar  to  her 
former  one  as  Mrs.  Custis,  for  she  was  again  the  wife  of  a  wealthy 
Southern  planter. 

A  devoted  mother,  domestic  in  her  tastes  and  habits,  yet  finding 


MARTHA  WASHINGTON. 


time  to  go  frequently  into  society  with  her  husband,  the  happiness  at 
Mount  Vernon  appeared  unalloyed  until  the  death,  in  1773,  of  her 
daughter,  Martha  Parke  Custis,  a  young  girl  sixteen  years  of  age. 
Less  than  two  years  later,  Mrs.  Washington  was  called  to  endure  other 
trials.  For  several  years  she  saw  little  of  her  husband,  who  was  called 
first  to  the  Senate  of  the  revolted  colonies,  and  then  to  the  chief  com- 
mand of  their  armies.  She  managed  her  domestic  affairs,  and  each 
winter  made  a  journey  to  the  camp,  where  she  was  an  honored  guest  at 
the  headquarters  of  the  army. 

Her  only  remaining  child,  John  Parke  Custis,  who  also  fought  in 
the  Revolutionary  War,  died  quite  suddenly  in  1781,  leaving  a  widow 
and  four  little  children.  The  two  youngest,  a  boy  and  a  girl,  were 
adopted  by  Washington,  and  brought  up  in  his  immediate  family. 

After  the  peace  of  1783,  Mount  Vernon  became  a  point  of  great 
attraction  to  distinguished  visitors  from  Europe  and  the  new  American 
States.  Mrs.  Washington  entertained  all  her  guests  with  dignity  and 
cordiality. 

Upon  her  removal  to  New  York,  as  wife  of  the  Chief  Magistrate 
of  the  nation,  she  retained  her  former  habits,  and  arranged  her  larger 
household  upon  the  model  of  her  Mount  Vernon  home.  Her  weekly 
public  receptions  were  attended  by  persons  connected  with  the  Govern- 
ment, foreign  ambassadors,  and  their  families,  and  by  others  who  held 
good  positions  in  refined  society. 

The  restraints  of  metropolitan  life  were  irksome  to  Mrs.  Washington, 
and  it  was  with  sincere  joy  that  the  President  and  his  wife  turned  their 
steps  once  more  towards  their  quiet  home  at  Mount  Vernon,  at  the  close 
of  a  successful  administration  of  eight  years'  duration. 

Washington  now  devoted  the  most  of  his  time  to  the  planning  and 
laying  out  of  the  city  which  bears  his  name.  He  laid  the  corner  stone 
of  the  "  White  House,"  named  in  honor  of  the  former  home  of  his 
wife. 

In  December,  1799,  Mrs.  Washington  was  called  upon  to  endure,  in 
the  death  of  her  husband,  with  whom  she  had  lived  happily  for  forty 
years,  her  last  and  greatest  trial.  She  followed  him  a  little  more  than 
two  years  afterward. 

George  and  Martha  Washington  rest  side  by  side,  near  the  bank  of 
the  Potomac  and  the  home  they  loved  so  well. 


GEN.  NATHANIEL  LYON. 


NATHANIEL  LYON. 


On  the  14th  day  of  July,  1819,  Nathaniel,  the  fourth  son  and 
seventh  child  of  Am asa  Lyon's  family  of  nine  children,  was  born  at 
their  old  farm-house  in  Ashford,  Windham  Co.,  Connecticut.  Always 
a  studious  boy  and  a  warm  patriot,  he  early  resolved  to  enter  the 
army.  Having  availed  himself  of  the  means  of  instruction  at  the 
district  school  of  the  town,  he  completed  his  preliminary  education  at 
an  academy  in  Brooklyn,  Ct,,  and  was  admitted  a  cadet  at  West  Point, 
from  which  institution  he  graduated  in  1841,  with  the  title  of  Second 
Lieutenant  in  the  Second  Regiment  of  Infantry.  Lieutenant  Lyon's 
first  service  was  in  the  Florida  War,  then  drawing  to  a  close.  Lie 
distinguished  himself  in  the  concluding  operations  in  1842.  He  was 
next  stationed  at  Sackett's  Harbor,  where  he  employed  his  leisure 
moments  in  reading  law  and  in  some  other  studies. 

When  the  war  with  Mexico  broke  out  in  1846,  he  was  sent  with 
his  company  to  join  General  Taylor  on  the  Rio  Grande. 

Then,  joining  General  Scott's  forces,  he  was  with  them  in  the 
operations  against  Vera  Cruz.  He  was  actively  engaged  in  the  battle 
of  Cerro  Gordo,  and  afterward  in  the  actions  of  Contreras  and  Cheru- 
busco,  for  his  gallantry  in  which  he  was  made  Brevet-Captain.  On  his 
return  to  the  United  States,  he  was  ordered  to  California,  where  for 
several  years  he  was  actively  employed  in  campaigns  against  the 
Indians.  After  spending  a  part  of  the  winter  and  spring  of  1854  at 
Washington,  he  was  sent  to  the  Territory  of  Kansas  during  the  Free- 
State  troubles.  Here  his  time  was  chiefly  passed  in  service  among 
the  Indians  of  the  far  West,  until  his  employment  in  the  opening 
scenes  of  the  civil  war,  in  Missouri.  He  had  previously  written  a 
eeries  of  articles  in  favor  of  the  success  of  the  Republican  Party  in  the 
Presidential  election. 

On  the  inauguration  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  Captain  Lyon  was 
placed  in  charge  of  the  arsenal  at  St.  Louis,  where  the  great  fore- 
thought he  displayed  in  this  command  determined  the  political  for- 


NATHANIEL  LYON. 


tunes  of  the  State.  In  April  he  was  formally  authorized  by  President 
Lincoln  to  enroll  a  force  of  ten  thousand  men,  citizens  of  the  State. 
On  the  10th  of  May  Captain  Lyon  himself  inarched  with  his  Home 
Guards  to  break  up  the  encampment  of  the  Secessionists  at  Fort 
Jackson,  so  named  in  honor  of  Governor  Jackson,  who  sided  with  the 
South  in  the  rebellion.  lie  was  successful,  General  Frost,  the  com- 
mander of  the  militia,  surrendering  the  whole  force  as  prisoners  of 
war.  The  next  day  General  Harney  arrived  and  took  command  in 
the  city,  and  soon  after  Captain  Lyon  was  appointed  by  the  President 
Brigadier-General  of  Volunteers. 

Upon  the  recall  of  General  Harney,  the  command  of  the  Depart- 
ment devolved  upon  General  Lyon,  who  took  that  position  on  the  1st 
of  June,  1861.  Ten  days  later  he  held  an  interview  with  Governor 
Jackson,  in  which  the  former  promised  to  disband  the  State  Guard  and 
militia  if  in  return  the  General  Government  would  break  up  the 
Home  Guard.  General  Lyon  refused  the  negotiation,  whereupon 
Governor  Jackson  left  for  Jefferson  City,  and  succeeded  in  calling  out 
50,000  militia,  "  to  repel  the  invasion  of  the  State."  On  the  13th  of 
June  General  Lyon  sailed  up  the  Missouri  with  15,000  troops  for  the 
capital,  pursued  the  rebellious  Governor  and  his  associates,  who  fled 
before  him  to  Booneville,  where  they  were  defeated  by  him  on  the 
17th.  He  then  marched  to  Springfield.  On  the  2d  of  August  he  met 
and  defeated  the  Confederates  under  McCulloch,  at  Dug  Springs. 
General  Price  having  joined  McCulloch,  their  combined  forces  made 
one  four  or  five  times  as  large  as  that  of  General  Lyon.  Calling  in 
vain  for  reinforcements,  he  determined,  rather  than  to  abandon  South- 
west Missouri,  to  risk  a  battle  under  such  disadvantages.  He  accord- 
ingly marched  to  meet  the  enemy,  and  attacked  them  in  their  camp  at 
Wilson's  Creek,  on  the  10th  of  August.  He  fell  that  day  in  the 
thickest  of  the  fight,  pierced  with  three  wounds. 

Major  Sturges,  his  second  in  command  at  the  time,  spoke  of  hia 
death  as  follows :  "  Thus  gloriously  fell  as  brave  a  soldier  as  ever 
drew  a  sword ;  a  man  whose  honesty  of  purpose  was  proverbial ;  a 
noble  patriot,  and  one  who  held  his  life  as  nothing  when  his  country 
demanded  it  of  him."  The  remains  of  General  Lyon  were  carried  to 
his  early  home  in  Eastford.  Great  honors  were  paid  to  his  memory. 
He  bequeathed  nearly  all  his  property,  some  $30,000,  to  the  Govern- 
ment, to  aid  in  the  preservation  of  the  Union. 


GEORGE    DAVID  CUMMINS. 


The  Right  Reverend  George  D.  Cummins,  D.D.,  was  born  in  the 
State  of  Delaware,  December  11,  1822.  His  early  religious  associa- 
tions were  with  the  Methodists.  In  1811  he  was  graduated  at  Dickin- 
son College,  Carlisle,  Pa.  In  1S45  he  was  ordained  a  deacon  of  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  by  Bishop  Lee  of  Delaware,  and  about 
two  years  later,  a  priest.  In  1850  Princeton  College  conferred  upon  him 
the  title  of  D.D.  He  had,  successively,  charge  of  Christ  Church,  Nor- 
folk, Va. ;  St.  James's,  Richmond ;  Trinity,  Washington,  D.  C.  ;  St. 
John's,  Baltimore  ;  and  Trinity,  Chicago.  While  rector  of  the  last 
parish,  he  was  elected  Assistant  Bishop  of  Kentucky,  and  received 
consecration  at  Christ  Church,  Louisville,  November  15,  1866. 

His  low -church  views  were  very  decided,  and  he  took  occasion  to 
censure  the  ritualistic  tendency  and  proceedings  of  some  of  the  churches 
in  the  See  of  Kentucky,  and  in  his  letter  to  Bishop  Smith,  his  senior 
associate,  announcing  his  formal  withdrawal  from  the  Episcopal  Church 
on  the  10th  of  November,  1873,  he  declared,  among  the  reasons  for  his 
course,  "  that  whenever  called  upon  to  officiate  in  certain  churches  he 
had  been  most  painfully  impressed  with  the  conviction  that  he  was 
sanctioning  and  endorsing  by  his  presence  and  official  acts  the  danger- 
ous errors  symbolized  by  the  services  customary  in  ritualistic  churches, 
and  that  he  could  no  longer  by  participation  in  such  services,  be  a  par- 
taker of  other  men's  sin,  and  must  clear  his  own  soul  of  all  complicity 
in  such  errors."  It  is  said  that  the  immediate  cause  of  the  secession  of 
Dr.  Cummins  was  the  controversy  which  followed  his  participation  in 
the  ceremony  of  the  Lord's  Supper  with  the  members  of  the  Evangeli- 
cal Alliance,  which  held  their  meeting  in  New  York  in  1873.  This  act 
of  religious  liberty  was  construed  by  a  number  of  Episcopal  clergymen, 
among  them  Bishop  Tozer,  as  an  implied  discourtesy  toward  Bishop 
Potter,  in  whose  diocese  the  act  was  performed.  Bishop  Potter  him 
self  did  not  complain  of  it  as  such,  but  Bishop  Tozer  felt  called  upon 


GEORGE   DAVID  CUMMINS. 


to  deprecate  the  action  of  his  brother  prelate  in  a  short  letter  which 
was  not  intended  for  publication. 

Soon  after  Bishop  Cummins  withdrew  from  his  relations  to  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  he  issued  a  call  for  a  meeting  of  those 
clergymen  who  entertained  views  similar  to  his  own.  The  first  General 
Council  convened  in  the  city  of  New  York,  December  2,  1873,  where 
all  the  necessary  steps  were  taken  for  the  efficient  organization  of  the 
new  denomination,  which  was  to  be  known  as  the  Reformed  Episcopal 
Church.  Services  were  held  in  New  York,  and  in  other  cities  by 
Bishop  Cummins.  At  the  second  General  Council,  which  convened  in 
New  York  in  May,  1874,  Bishop  Cummins  was  elected  President. 

The  Reformed  Church  adheres  to  Episcopacy  as  a  desirable  form  of 
congregational  government,  but  not  in  obedience  to  divine  edict.  In 
all  respects  the  Bible  is  made  the  sole  basis  of  its  doctrines  and  prac- 
tices. What  are  considered  doctrinal  errors  in  the  Episcopal  belief,  and 
especially  ritualism  in  all  its  forms,  are  opposed  by  the  members  of  the 
Reformed  Episcopal  Church.  Its  constitution  and  canons,  after  learned 
discussion,  were  adopted  by  the  second  General  Council.  A  new  Prayer 
Book  was  also  discussed  and  adopted.  Overtures  for  affiliation  having 
been  accepted  from  the  English  Free  Church,  clerical  and  lay  delegates, 
including  Bishop  Cummins  among  the  former,  were  appointed  to  a 
meeting  of  that  denomination. 

After  a  brief  illness,  Bishop  Cummins  died  at  his  residence  at 
Lutherville,  Baltimore  County,  Md.,  on  the  26th  of  June,  1876. 

Of  pleasing  manners  and  address,  Bishop  Cummins  was  a  fine, 
erect,  clerical-looking  gentleman.  His  head  was  intellectual,  and  the 
expression  of  his  face  cheerful  and  amiable.  He  was  prudent  and 
consistent  in  all  his  walks,  and  sought  to  make  not  only  his  teachings, 
but  his  example  a  source  of  benefit  to  his  fellow-men.  As  a  preacher, 
he  was  earnest  and  devout.  Assured  in  faith,  he  preached  with  the 
grasp  of  a  learned  mind  and  a  fervent  heart.  His  action  in  retiring 
from  his  functions  in  the  Episcopal  Church  was  conscientious  and 
courageous,  and  in  upholding  the  church  he  founded,  gave  to  it  a  zeal 
and  piety  which  all  men  must  respect. 


WASHINGTON  IRVING. 


The  ancestry  of  Washington  Irving  in  Scotland  has  been  traced 
back  for  some  centuries,  and  the  race,  v  hich  was  at  one  time  a  flour- 
ishing one,  in  the  words  of  Irving,  "  dwindled,  and  dwindled,  and 
dwindled,  until  the  last  of  them,  nearly  a  hundred  years  since,  sought 
a  new  home  in  this  New  World  of  ours."  This  was  William  Irving, 
who,  with  his  English  wife,  reached  New  York  in  1760.  Here  their 
eon,  Washington  Irving,  was  born,  on  the  3d  of  April,  1783.  Irving's 
school-days  were  not  as  strict  as  those  of  most  boys,  his  education  being 
principally  superintended  at  home,  by  his  elder  brothers.  The  extreme 
delicacy  of  his  health  during  boyhood  and  early  manhood  prevented  a 
close  application  to  his  books,  and  consequently  his  studies  did  not 
progress  very  rapidly.  But  his  observation  of  nature,  and  the  odd  bits 
of  information  gathered  in  his  rambles  on  Manhattan  Island,  aided 
him  in  his  literary  career.  At  the  age  of  nineteen  he  contributed  a 
number  of  sketches  to  the  New  York  Morning  Chronicle,  under  the 
signature  of  "  Jonathan  Oldstyle."  These  articles  are  the  earliest  of 
his  productions  of  which  we  have  any  knowledge.  After  a  visit  of 
nearly  two  years  in  Europe,  on  account  of  his  health,  Irving  returned 
to  New  York,  and  soon  after  the  first  number  of  "  Salmagundi,"  a 
work  which  obtained  a  considerable  degree  of  popularity,  appeared. 
But  when  the  humorous  "  History  of  New  York,  by  Diedrich  Knick- 
erbocker," was  published  in  1809,  the  author  suddenly  found  himself 
one  of  the  most  popular  of  American  writers.  During  the  war  of 
1812-14  he  contributed  to  the  Analectic  Monthly  a  series  of  biogra- 
phies of  the  United  States  naval  officers.  At  the  close  of  the  war  he 
went  to  Liverpool,  to  take  charge  of  the  commercial  house  of  Irving 
Brothers,  with  which  he  was  connected.  Upon  the  subsequent  failure 
of  the  firm,  he  turned  his  attention  exclusively  to  literature,  and,  with 
the  aid  of  Sir  Walter  Scott,  brought  out  his  "  Sketch-book,"  which  wou 
him  fame  and  profit.    "  Bracebridge  Hall  "  and  the  "  Tales  of  a  Trav- 


WASHINGTON  IRVING. 


eller"  soon  followed.  "In  all  these  works  there  is  an  elaborate  ele- 
gance of  style,  a  certain  delicacy  and  sweetness  of  sentiment,  an  easy 
grace  of  reflection,  a  happy  turn  of  description.  The  writer  does  not 
draw  a  great  deal  on  his  invention  for  the  characters  or  the  incidents, 
but  he  managed  to  develop  both  with  skill,  and,  being  always  a  jealous 
watcher  of  his  own  powers,  and  cautious  in  feeling  the  pulse  of  the 
public,  he  looked  for  new  material  before  the  old  was  exhausted."  It 
is  hardly  necessary  to  enter  into  a  minute  description  of  his  various 
productions:  the  "History  of  the  Life  and  Voyages  of  Christopher 
Columbus ; "  the  "  Voyages  and  Discoveries  of  the  Companions  of 
Columbus  ;  "  "  The  Conquest  of  Grenada  ;  "  "  Tales  of  the  Alham- 
bra  ;  "  "  Tour  on  the  Prairies ;"  "  Astoria ;  "  "  Adventures  of  Captain 
Bonneville  ;  "  "  Oliver  Goldsmith,  a  Biography  ;  "  "  Mahomet  and  his 
Successors  ;  "  a  narration  of  the  rise  and  progress  of  Mohammedanism  ; 
"  Chronicles  of  Wolfert's  lioost ; "  his  last  work,  the  "  Life  of  Wash- 
ington," etc.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  they  served  to  enhance  the  repu- 
tation of  the  author,  and  now  hold  an  undisputed  place  among  the 
standard  American  works. 

In  1829  Irving  was  appointed  Secretary  of  Legation  to  the  Ameri 
can  Embassy  in  London,  and  about  this  time  the  Poyal  Society  of 
Literature  awarded  him  one  of  its  gold  medals,  provided  by  George 
IV.  The  honorary  degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws  was  conferred  upon 
him.  In  1841  he  received  the  entirely  unexpected  nomination  of 
Minister  Plenipotentiary  to  the  Court  of  Spain.  After  representing 
his  country  with  great  success,  he  was,  in  1846,  at  his  own  wish,  re- 
called. Retiring  to  his  beautiful  home,  Sunnyside,  on  the  Hudson,  he 
remained  there  until  his  death,  which  occurred  on  November  28, 
1859.  It  was  occasioned  by  a  sudden  stroke  of  heart  disease.  Fie 
now  sleeps  near  "  Sleepy  Hollow,"  which  he  had  rendered  so  famous. 
"  A  more  gentle  human  spirit  never  inhabited  the  form  of  man. 
Everybody  loved  him.  For  more  than  a  year  after  his  burial,  the 
hands  of  his  fair  neighbors  laid  fresh  flowers  every  morning  upon  his 
modest  grave,  at  whose  head  is  a  small,  white  slab,  bearing  only  the 
words,  '  Washington  Irving.'  " 

Irving  was  engaged  to  a  daughter  of  the  late  Judge  Josiah  Hoff- 
man. The  young  lady  died,  and  he  always  remained  single.  A  great 
deal  has  been  said  of  the  influence  this  had  upon  his  life. 


JEAN  BAPTISTE  LEMOINE  BIENVILLE. 


The  history  of  the  early  settlement  of  the  United  States,  together 
with  the  incidents  in  the  lives  of  the  brave  men  who,  leaving  home, 
friends,  and  all  that  was  dear  to  them  in  their  native  land,  came  to  the 
New  World  for  the  sake  of  establishing  new  homes,  and  civilizing  the 
beautiful,  but  hitherto  unexplored  region,  will  ever  be  a  subject  of  the 
deepest  interest  to  the  American  people.  We  of  the  present  century, 
who  are  now  reaping  the  benefits  of  their  sacrifices  and  labors,  can  never 
fully  realize  all  that  they,  to  whom  we  are  indebted  for  what  we  now 
enjoy,  were  called  upon  to  undergo,  before  so  great  a  result  could  be 
achieved.  Compelled  to  face  dangers  and  hardships  of  the  most 
appalling  character,  some  few  were  recompensed  with  the  fame  and 
fortune  for  which  they  sought,  but  by  far  the  greater  number  met 
with  misfortune,  disappointment,  and  a  resting-place  in  an  unknown 
grave,  far  distant  from  the  haunts  of  man.  But  it  is  highly  improbable 
that  even  a  remote  conception  of  the  almost  miraculous  change 
effected — through  their  efforts  in  the  first  place— in  the  aspects  of  the 
country,  ever  entered  into  the  wildest  dream  of  the  most  imaginative 
one  among  them. 

Among  the  nations  of  the  Old  World  which  sent  out  parties  to 
explore  and  colonize  the  New,  France  was  well  represented.  Some  of 
her  people  had  early  settled  in  Canada  and  claimed  it  as  her  property. 
Here,  at  Montreal,  on  the  23d  of  February,  1680,  Bienville,  the  future 
colonial  governor  of  Louisiana,  was  born.  He  was  the  son  of  Charles 
Lemoine,  and  the  third  of  four  brothers  (Iberville,  Sauvolle,  Bienville, 
and  Clmteaugay),  all  of  whom  played  important  parts  in  the  history  of 
Louisiana.  He  entered  the  French  naval  service  with  his  brother  Iber- 
ville, serving  under  him  in  seven  voyages.  While  yet  a  lad  he  was 
severely  wounded  in  a  conflict  off  the  coast  of  New  England,  in  which 
the  French  ship  "Pelican,"  42  guns,  commanded  by  Iberville,  suc- 
cessfully encountered  three  English  men-of-war,  each  of  fully  equal 
power  with  his  own. 


JEAN    BAPTISTE    L  E  M  O  I  N  E  BIENVILLE. 


When  Iberville,  in  1698,  founded  a  colony  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Mississippi,  he  took  with  him  his  two  brothers,  Sauvolle  and  Bienville. 
Living  at  a  time  when  permanent  settlements  were  multiplying,  though 
they  were  still  few  and  far  between,  these  three  brothers,  after  making 
considerable  explorations,  were  successful  in  their  attempt  to  form  a 
settlement  near  the  mouth  of  the  great  "  Father  of  Rivers.'1  This 
first  one  was  made  at  Biloxi,  in  December,  1699,  when  Sauvolle  was 
left  in  command,  while  Bienville  was  engaged  in  exploring  the  sur- 
rounding country.  Iberville,  who  had  been  to  France,  came  back  with 
a  commission  appointing  Sauvolle  governor  of  Louisiana.  He  held 
this  office  until  his  death,  which  occurred  in  1701.  Bienville  succeeded 
him  to  the  direction  of  the  colony,  the  principal  seat  of  which  was  now 
transferred  to  Mobile.  The  year  before  this  Bienville  had  assisted  in 
constructing  a  fort  fifty-four  miles  above  the  mouth  of  the  river.  In 
1701,  he  was  joined  by  his  brother  Chateaugay,  who  brought  from 
Canada  seventeen  settlers.  About  this  time  a  ship  arrived  from  France 
bringing  twenty  young  females,  who  had  been  sent  out  to  be  married 
to  the  settlers  at  Mobile.  Iberville  died  soon  after;  troubles  arose  in 
the  colon}-,  Bienville  was  charged  with  various  acts  of  misconduct,  and 
in  1707,  was  dismissed  from  office;  but  his  successor  dying  on  the 
voyage  from  France,  he  retained  the  command  until  he  was  superseded 
by  Lamotte  Cadillac,  in  1713.  He  was  then  made  Lieutenant-gover- 
nor. Quarrels  arose  between  them,  and  Cadillac  sent  him  on  an  expe- 
dition against  the  Natchez  tribe,  hoping  he  would  lose  his  life.  He, 
however,  persuaded  the  Natchez  to  build  him  a  fort,  in  which  he  left  a 
garrison,  and  returned  to  Mobile.  Epinay  succeeded  Cadillac  in  1717, 
and  Bienville  received  the  decoration  of  the  Cross  of  St.  Louis.  The 
next  year  he  succeeded  Epinay  as  governor.  He  now  founded  the 
city  of  New  Orleans.  During  the  war  between  France  and  Spain,  he 
took  Pensacola  from  the  Spaniards,  and  placed  his  brother  Chateau- 
gay  in  command.  In  1723,  he  transferred  the  seat  of  government  to 
New  Orleans.  The  next  year  he  was  summoned  to  France  to  answer 
charges  that  had  been  brought  against  him,  and  was  removed  from 
office.  Before  leaving  the  colony  he  published  a  code  regulating  the 
condition  of  the  slaves,  banishing  the  Jews,  and  prohibiting  every  reli- 
gion except  the  Roman  Catholic.  This  remained  in  force  until  after 
the  transfer  of  Louisiana  to  the  United  States.  In  1733,  he  was  re-ap- 
pointed governor,  and  raised  to  the  rank  of  Lieutenant-general.  He  led 
three  unsuccessful  expeditions  against  the  Chickasaws,  for  which  he  was 
superseded.    In  1713  he  returned  to  France,  where  he  died  in  1768. 


ANDREW   HULL  FOOTE. 


Among  the  many  "whose  names  have  added  lustre  to  our  naval 
renown,  and  must  ever  adorn  our  national  annals,  few  will  stand  more 
prominent  than  that  of  the  gallant  and  self-sacrificing  Christian  sailor 
and  gentleman,"  Andrew  Hull  Foote.  He  was  born  in  New  Haven, 
Connecticut,  on  the  12th  of  September,  1806 ;  and  was  the  son  of  the 
Honorable  Samuel  A.  Foote,  Governor  of  Connecticut,  and  well  known 
in  the  political  history  of  the  country  as  the  mover  of  the  resolution  in 
the  United  States  Senate  on  the  Public  Lands,  which  gave  occasion  to 
the  celebrated  debate  on  the  principles  of  nullification  between  Daniel 
Webster  and  Robert  Y.  Hayne,  of  South  Carolina. 

Young  Foote  early  exhibited  a  strong  inclination  to  join  the  Navy, 
and  in  1822  entered  as  midshipman,  making  his  first  cruise  in  the 
schooner  "  Grampus,"  which  was  attached  to  the  squadron  of  Commo- 
dore Porter  and  was  sent  in  1823  to  suppress  and  chastise  the  West 
Indian  pirates.  The  next  few  years  were  passed  on  the  Pacific  Station 
and  in  the  service  of  the  West  India  squadron.  In  1830  he  received 
a  lieutenant's  commission.  In  the  following  years  he  cruised  in  the 
Mediterranean  under  Commodore  Patterson,  on  board  the  seventy-four 
gun  flag-ship  "  Delaware."  Lieutenant  Foote  was  one  of  a  party  which, 
while  the  ship  was  cruising  in  the  Levant,  obtained  leave  of  absence, 
and  made  the  tour  of  the  Holy  Land.  In  1838,  as  first  lieutenant  of 
the  sloop-of-war  "  John  Adams,"  under  Commodore  Read,  during  the 
voyage  round  the  globe,  he  took  part  in  an  attack  on  the  pirates  of 
Sumatra.  While  on  duty  at  the  Naval  Asylum,  at  Philadelphia,  in 
1841-3,  he  prevailed  upon  many  of  the  inmates  to  give  up  their  spirit- 
rations,  and  was  one  of  the  first  to  introduce  the  principle  of  total  ab- 
stinence from  intoxicating  drinks  in  the  Navy,  and  continued  this 
effort  in  "The  Cumberland"  in  1843-5,  besides  delivering  every 
Sunday  an  extemporaneous  sermon  to  the  crew.  In  the  latter  part  of 
1849,  he  was  appointed  to  the  command  of  the  brig  "  Perry,"  and 


ANDREW    HULL  FOOTE. 


ordered  to  join  the  American  squadron  off  the  coast  of  Africa.  There 
he  proved  one  of  the  most  efficient  officers  in  the  service  in  the  sup- 
pression of  the  slave  trade.  Captain  Foote  formed  one  of  the  famous 
"  Retiring  Board,"  appointed  by  President  Pierce  to  inquire  into  the 
efficiency  of  the  officers  of  the  Navy.  His  last  cruise  was  from  1856 
to  1858,  off  the  coast  of  China  and  Japan.  The  Chinese,  firing  upon 
a  boat's  crew  of  his  men,  he,  without  waiting  orders,  assumed  the 
responsibility  of  avenging  the  injury.  With  his  twenty-two  guns  and 
three  hundred  men  he  attacked  and  breached  the  celebrated  Barrier 
forts,  regular  fortifications  of  solid  granite,  and  garrisoned  by  five 
thousand  men,  of  whom  four  hundred  were  killed  and  wounded. 

At  the  outbreak  of  the  great  rebellion  he  was  stationed  at  the 
Brooklyn  Navy  Yard.  He  superintended  the  outfit  of  the  blockading 
squadron  xmtil  he  was  transferred  to  the  Western  waters.  There  re- 
ceiving great  assistance  from  the  energetic  Fremont  while  in  com- 
mand, the  building  of  the  gunboat  fleet  progressed  rapidly ;  and  at 
length,  on  the  night  of  the  5th  of  February,  1862,  the  gallant  flag 
officer  steamed  away  from  Cairo,  so  silently  that  the  nation  hardly 
knew  that  he  was  gone  until  his  cannon  were  heard  at  the  walls  of 
Fort  Henry,  then  held  by  the  Confederate  General  Tilghman,  with 
about  six  thousand  men.  Commodore  Foote,  with  seven  gunboats, 
arrived  near  the  fort  on  the  6th,  and  opened  the  bombardment  about 
noon.  After  a  vigorous  cannonade  of  an  hour  and  a  quarter  the  fort 
surrendered,  and  the  land  forces  took  possession.  He  then  returned  to 
Cairo,  and  prepared  for  an  assault  on  Fort  Donelson.  During  this 
attack  he  was  severely  wounded  in  the  ankle.  Though  on  crutches,  he 
proceeded  down  the  Mississippi  with  his  fleet,  and  a  number  of  mortar- 
boats,  to  besiege  Island  No.  10,  which  he  succeeded  in  reducing  on 
the  7th  of  April.  He  continued  his  indefatigable  operations  until  the 
9th  of  May.  He  had  been  gradually  sinking  under  the  effects  of  his 
wound,  and  was  obliged  to  relinquish  the  command  to  Captain  Davis. 

In  July,  President  Lincoln  appointed  Captain  Foote  a  Rear- 
Admiral — ranking  fourth  on  the  active  list.  When  the  Bureau  of 
Construction  was  established,  he  was  put  at  its  head ;  on  his  way  from 
New  Haven  to  Washington  to  be  commissioned,  he  was  presented,  by 
the  leading  citizens  of  Brooklyn,  with  an  elegant  sword.  On  Admiral 
Dupont's  being  relieved  from  his  commission  of  the  South  Atlantic 
blockade  squadron,  Admiral  Foote  was  appointed  to  succeed  him. 
While  on  his  way  to  this  post  he  was  taken  sick  and  died  in  New  York 
City,  on  the  26th  of  June,  1S63. 


JOHN 


RUSSELL 


BARTLETT. 


This  well-known  American  author  Was  born  at  Providence,  Rhode 
Island,  on  the  23d  of  October,  1805.  He  was  educated  in  Canada, 
and  at  Lowville  Academy  in  the  State  of  New  York.  He  was  placed 
in  a  banking-house  at  an  early  age,  and  was  for  six  years  cashier  of  the 
Globe  Bank,  Providence.  In  1837  Mr.  Bartlett  removed  to  New  York, 
and  entered  a  large  commission  house  in  that  city.  The  business  prov- 
ing unsuccessful,  he  turned  his  attention  from  commercial  pursuits,  and 
with  the  aid  of  Mr.  Charles  Welford,  established  a  book-store  for  the 
importation  and  sale  of  choice  foreign  Works.  In  those  days  there  was 
no  better  or  more  popular  resort  for  literary  men  than  the  book-store 
of  Bartlett  &  Welford*  He  became  an  active  member  of  the  New- 
York  Historical  Society,  and  was  for  many  years  its  Foreign  Corre- 
sponding Secretary.  In  1842  he  also,  in  conjunction  with  the  Hon. 
Albert  Gallatin,  founded  the  American  Ethnological  Society,  of  which 
he  was  for  several  years  the  Corresponding  Secretary.  The  meetings 
of  the  Society  were  frecpiently  held  at  his  house,  No.  1  Amity  Place, 
and  were  well  attended  by  the  cultivated  residents  of  New  York  and 
vicinity.  Travellers  of  intelligence,  and  distinguished  literary  gentle- 
men visiting  the  city,  were  invited  to  these  gatherings,  and  were  always 
welcomed  at  his  hospitable  home. 

In  1S49,  Mr.  Bartlett  retired  from  the  book  business,  and  the  next 
year  was  appointed,  by  President  Taylor,  commissioner  to  fix  the 
boundary  line  between  the  United  States  and  Mexico,  under  the  treaty 
of  Guadalupe  Hidalgo.  He  remained  in  this  service  until  January, 
1853,  making  surveys  and  explorations,  accompanied  by  elaborate 
astronomical,  magnetic,  and  meteorological,  as  well  as  geological,  and 
botanical  observations;  but  for  want  of  the  necessary  means  he  was 
obliged  to  suspend  operations,  and  return  home  before  the  boundary 
line  was  fully  completed.  In  1854,  he  published  a  narrative  of  his 
explorations,  and  the  incidents  which  occurred  during  those  three 
years.    "  This  work  of  Mr.  Bartlett  is  replete  with  interest,  from  the 


JOHN    RUSSELL    BART  LETT. 


novelty  of  the  region  visited,  and  the  happy  manner  in  which  he  has 
jotted  down  his  observations.  The  style  is  simple  and  unpretending, 
and  all  the  more  graphic  and  attractive  on  that  account.  The  inci- 
dents— many  exciting,  some  amusing,  others  humorous,  and  all  enter- 
taining— evidently  were  recorded  while  they  were  fresh  in  the  mind 
of  the  author ;  and  in  the  same  fresh  way  they  will  reach  the  mind  of 
the  reader."  Previous  to  this  he  had  published  the  "  Progress  of 
Ethnology,"  and  "  A  Dictionary  of  Americanisms ;  A  Glossary  of 
Words  and  Phrases  usually  regarded  as  peculiar  to  the  United  States." 

In  1855,  Mr.  Bartlett  was  elected  Secretary  of  State  of  Rhode  Island, 
to  which  office  he  was  re-elected  annually  for  seventeen  consecutive 
years  ;  on  one  occasion  receiving  every  vote  polled  in  the  State,  being 
upwards  of  twenty-five  thousand  in  number,  from  four  political  parties. 

His  contributions  during  this  period  have  been  chiefly  of  a  local 
nature  connected  with  the  State.  Upon  assuming  the  duties  of  his 
office  he  made  an  examination  of  the  records  which  extend  back  to  the 
foundation  of  the  city  of  Providence,  in  1636,  by  Roger  Williams  and 
his  associates.  Finding  the  old  manuscripts  in  a  perishable  condition, 
he  recommended  the  General  Assembly  of  the  State  to  have  them  put  in 
order  and  the  records  printed.  His  plan  met  with  the  approval  of  that 
body  and  authority  was  given  him  to  arrange  the  State  Papers  in  books, 
so  as  to  be  accessible,  as  well  as  to  edit  and  print  the  State  Records.  He 
began  his  labors  and  brought  out  a  volume  of  the  Records  every  year, 
the  tenth  and  last  ending  with  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States  by  the  State  in  1792. 

In  1S66,  Mr.  Bartlett  issued  a  work  entitled"  The  Literature  of  the 
Rebellion,"  a  catalogue  of  books  and  pamphlets  relating  to  the  late 
Civil  War.  With  few  exceptions  the  works  described  are  in  the  collec- 
tion of  Mr.  Bartlett.  In  1867  was  published  in  large  quarto,  and 
illustrated  with  portraits,  his  work  entitled  "  Memoirs  of  Rhode  Island 
Officers  who  have  rendered  distinguished  Service  to  their  Country  in 
the  Contest  with  the  Great  Rebellion  of  the  South." 

We  may  also  mention  a  costly  work  in  four  volumes,  being  a  cata- 
logue of  the  valuable  library  of  Mr.  John  Carter  Brown,  of  Provi- 
dence, in  the  collection  of  which  Mr.  Bartlett  rendered  important  aid. 

The  fourth  edition  of  his  "  Americanisms,"  revised  and  enlarged, 
was  issued  about  Christmas,  1877,  by  Little,  Brown  &  Co.,  Boston. 

His  long  and  valuable  services  in  behalf  of  bis  native  State,  as  well 
as  in  the  furtherance  of  the  various  societies  with  which  he  is  con- 
nected, deserve  to  be  held  in  grateful  remembrance. 


GEORGE    DENISON  PRENTICE. 


TnE  poet  and  journalist,  George  D.  Prentice,  was  born  at  Preston, 
Connecticut,  on  the  18th  of  December,  1802.  His  school  life  began 
at  an  unusually  early  age,  but  during  the  period  between  his  ninth  and 
fourteenth  years  he  was  kept  at  home  to  work  upon  the  farm.  At  the 
end  of  that  time,  his  parents  wishing  him  to  have  a  collegiate  educa- 
tion, placed  him  under  the  instruction  of  a  Presbyterian  minister. 
Young  Prentice's  ready  perception  and  remarkable  ability  to  commit 
to  memory  placed  him,  in  a  short  time,  on  an  equal  footing  with  many 
boys  who  had  enjoyed  far  greater  advantages.  His  progress  in  his 
studies  was  so  rapid  that  in  six  months  he  was  fitted  to  enter  any  New 
England  college.  His  means  not  admitting  of  his  commencing  the 
collegiate  course  at  once,  he  took  charge  of  a  village  school  when  only 
about  fifteen  years  old,  and  taught  it  for  two  successive  years.  In  1820 
he  entered  the  Sophomore  class  at  Brown  University. 

After  graduating,  Mr.  Prentice  taught  school  for  a  while,  and  then 
turned  his  attention  to  the  study  of  law,  with  the  intention  of  following 
that  profession.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  but  did  not  engage  in 
practice,  the  editorial  desk  presenting  sufficiently  greater  attractions  to 
lead  him  to  abandon  his  first  plans.  Soon  after  becoming  of  age  he 
took  charge  of  and  edited  "  The  New  England  Weekly  Eeview,"  at 
Hartford,  a  literary  journal  which  he  conducted  for  two  years. 

When  his  connection  with  it  ceased,  he  was  succeeded  by  Mr.  J.  G. 
Whittier,  some  of  whose  early  poems  had  been  contributed  to  its 
columns. 

Removing,  in  1830,  to  Louisville,  Kentucky,  he  became  editor  of 
the  "  Louisville  Journal,"  a  daily  newspaper.  During  his  connection 
with  it  he  won  a  high  and  widespread  reputation  for  political  ability  ? 
for  earnest,  able  editorials,  and  for  wit  and  satire.  "The  Louisville 
Journal "  has  always  been  a  supporter  of  the  cause  of  education  and 
of  the  literary  interest  in  the  West.    It  hence  became,  in  accordance 


GEORGE    DENISON  PRENTICE. 


with  the  known  tastes  of  the  editor,  a  favorite  avenue  of  young  poets 
to  the  public.  Several  of  the  most  successful  lady  writers  of  the 
West  were  first  known  through  their  contributions  to  the  "  Journal." 
His  "  Prenticiana  ;  or,  Wit  and  Humor  in  Paragraphs,"  became  widely 
known  and  very  popular.  His  own  poetical  writings  are  numerous. 
Many  of  these  first  appeared  in  bis  "  Eeview  "  at  Hartford.  The  repu- 
tation they  gained  for  him  was  hardly  less  than  that  of  his  Wit  and 
Humor. 

During  the  civil  war  he  warmly  maintained  the  cause  of  the  Union, 
though  his  two  sons,  his  only  children,  joined  the  secessionists.  One 
of  them  was  killed  in  an  engagement  at  Augusta,  Kentucky.  The 
other,  Clarence  J.  Prentice,  is  still  living.  At  the  close  of  the  war 
Mr.  Prentice  found  that  his  active  days  were  about  over.  He  had 
parted  with  the  ownership  of  the  "  Journal,"  but  still  worked  on  in  the 
old  way.  For  the  last  twenty-five  years  of  his  life  he  was  troubled 
with  a  partial  paralysis  of  his  right  arm.  After  a  year  or  more  of  feeble 
health,  and  a  severe  sickness  of  a  few  days'  duration,  he  died  at  Louis- 
ville on  the  22d  of  January,  1870. 

Mr.  John  James  Piatt,  a  friend  of  Mr.  Prentice,  has,  since  his 
death,  gathered  his  poems  in  a  volume,  together  with  a  biographical 
sketch.  Among  his  best  known  poems  are  "  The  Flight  of  Years," 
"  The  Closing  Year,"  "  The  Dead  Mariner,"  "  Written  at  My  Mother's 
Grave,"  etc.  The  following  description  is  takeu  from  Mr.  Piatt's 
sketch : 

"  In  person  Mr.  Prentice  was  slightly  above  the  medium  stature, 
with  a  figure,  when  in  vigorous  health,  inclined  to  stoutness.  His  fea- 
tures were  not  regular,  but  his  face  was  for  the  most  part  pleasing ; 
often,  when  animated,  it  seemed  handsome.  His  head  was  finely  shaped? 
having  a  particularly  noble  and  impressive  forehead.  His  hair  was 
black  but  somewhat  thin,  retaining  its  blackness  until  quite  late  in 
life.  He  had  dark  brown  eyes,  rather  small,  full  of  light  and  sparkle 
when  he  was  in  a  happy  mood,  though  they  could  express  fierceness  and 
severity.  His  voice  was  low  and  agreeable  in  its  general  tone.  Among 
strangers  he  was  apt  to  be  reserved,  sometimes  embarrassed  ;  but  with 
chosen  friends  his  conversation  was  fluent  and  free — often  full  of 
characteristic  brightness  and  humor;  at  other  times,  when  touching 
the  loftier  themes  of  poetry  and  philosophy,  seriously  sweet  and  elo- 
quent." 


FLETCHER  HARPER. 


In  noticing  the  career  of  Fletcher  Harper,  we  naturally  connect  his 
name  and  fame  in  intimate  association  with  his  elder  brothers,  his  life- 
long fellow-workers  in  the  foundation  and  establishment  of  the  great 
publishing  house,  which  yet  perpetuates  their  union  in  its  designation 
Harper  &  Brothers. 

The  story  of  their  lives  is  a  memorable  one.  The  family  in  America 
derives  its  origin  from  James  Harper,  who  came  from  England  about 
the  middle  of  the  last  century.  His  son  Joseph,  married  Elizabeth 
Kolyer,  a  woman  of  superior  character.  Of  this  union  were  born  the 
four  brothers — James,  in  1795,  John,  in  1797,  Joseph  Wesley,  in  1801, 
and  Fletcher,  in  1S06.  James  chose  the  profession  of  a  printer,  and 
was  apprenticed  to  Paul  &  Thomas  of  New  York,  whose  editions  of 
the  Bible,  and  Pilgrim's  Progress,  illustrated  by  the  admirable  wood- 
cuts of  Dr.  Alexander  Anderson,  remain  a  valued  memorial  of  their 
enterprise.  John  soon  followed  in  the  same  vocation,  in  the  office  of 
Mr.  Seymour.  In  1817,  the  two  brothers  commenced  business  for 
themselves,  in  a  small  building  in  Dover  St.,  under  the  firm  of  J.  &  J. 
Harper.  The  first  book  which  they  printed  was  "  Seneca's  Morals,"  in 
an  edition  of  2,000  copies  for  Evert  Duyckinck,  a  well-known  New  York 
publisher.  The  first  publication  which  bore  their  own  imprint  was 
Locke's  "  Essay  upon  the  Human  Understanding."  The  younger  broth- 
ers, Joseph  Wesley  and  Fletcher,  following  the  elder,  became  their 
apprentices,  and  in  due  time,  the  one  in  1823,  the  other  in  1825,  became 
partners  in  the  firm,  which  bore  its  first  designation  till  1833,  when  it 
was  changed  to  its  present  style.  Their  place  of  business,  after  several 
migrations,  had  in  the  meantime  been  removed  to  Cliff  Street,  on  a  por- 
tion of  the  property  now  occupied  by  the  greatly  enlarged  establish- 
ment. On  that  spot  the  business  was  developed.  It  was  conducted 
with  the  most  regular  industry  and  steady  pursuance  of  fixed  plans. 
The  diligent,  successful  printers,  studying  the  demands  of  publishers, 
naturally  grew  into  publishers  themselves.  In  the  republication  of  the 
Waverley  Novels,  and  continued  through  the  best  authors  of  fiction, 


FLETCHER  HARPER. 


the  publication  of  the  classical  school-books  of  the  late  Dr.  Charles 
Anthon,  and  in  their  extensive  series,  "  The  Family  Library,"  they 
found  lucrative  avenues  to  their  growing  prosperity. 

The  character  of  the  members  of  the  firm  was  developed  with  this 
success.  This  has  been  happily  described  by  one  who  began  life  with 
one  of  them  as  a  fellow  apprentice,  the  venerable  Thurlow  Weed. 
"  The  brothers,"  says  he,  "  though  harmonious  and  congenial  in  senti- 
ment and  sympathy,  each  possessed  an  individuality,  physical  and  men- 
tal, distinct  from  the  other.  James,  although  a  thorough  and  earnest 
business  man,  was  never  grave  or  serious,  mixing  up  with  the  most 
important  duties  of  the  office,  stories  and  jokes.  The  second  brother, 
John,  was  grave  and  quiet,  rarely  taking  part  in  general  conversation, 
but  his  judgment  was  always  sought  and  taken  upon  important  busi- 
ness questions.  Wesley  was  small  in  stature,  and  so  modest  and  retir- 
ing in  manner  and  habit,  as  to  be  almost  unnoticeable  ;  but  he  was  a 
man  of  mind  and  culture,  whose  sterling  qualities  were  appreciated  by 
all  who  knew  him  well.  Fletcher,  now  the  only  survivor  (this  was 
written  in  1876),  plays,  as  Charles  P.  Clinch  said  of  the  late  Charles  L. 
Livingstone,  '  The  gentleman  all  the  year  round.'  "  Mr.  Weed  might 
also  have  characterized  him  as  pre-eminently  the  man  of  business — ■ 
quick  in  perception,  sagacious  in  judgment,  resolute  in  carrying  out 
his  plans  to  a  successful  issue. 

Years  rolled  on  in  the  steady  routine  of  the  daily  life  of  the  firm, 
hardly  diversified  by  the  burning  of  the  entire  printing  establishment, 
in  December,  1853.  The  business  was  continued  in  a  neighboring 
large  warehouse,  till  the  present  vast  fireproof  building  in  Pearl  Street 
rose  on  the  ashes  of  the  old.  In  this  new  structure  the  routine  was 
resumed  with  the  same  noiseless  forms,  while  new  enterprises  in  pub- 
lishing were  engrafted  on  those  of  earlier  date.  The  most  important 
of  these  may  be  said  to  have  been  chiefly  indebted  to  the  sagacity  of 
Fletcher  Harper.  This  was  the  development  of  their  periodical  publi- 
cations, the  "  Monthly "  Magazine  and  the  "  Weekly,"  to  which  was 
added  his  own  favorite  project — the  "  Bazar." 

All  the  members  lived  to  see  the  great  house  stand  substantially  as  it 
does  to-day.  The  first,  whose  departure  was  to  break  the  charmed  circle, 
was  James,  who,  in  the  unabated  vigor  of  health,  was  suddenly  fatally 
injured  by  being  thrown  from  his  carriage,  at  the  entrance  to  the  Central 
Park.  This  was  in  March,  1869.  The  death  of  Joseph  Wesley  occurred 
the  next  year,  in  February;  that  of  John  in  April,  1875.  Fletcher  did 
uot  long  survive ;  he  died  on  the  29th  of  May,  1877. 


LIEUT.  GEN.  PHILIP  H.  SHERIDAN,!!  S.A. 


PHILIP    HENRY  SHERIDAN. 


Prominent  among  the  heroes  of  our  late  Civil  War,  was  the  Gen 
oral  familiarly  known  as  Phil.  Sheridan.  This  brave  officer  was  born 
in  Somerset,  Perry  County,  Ohio,  on  the  6th  of  March,  1831.  He 
was  graduated  at  the  United  States  Military  Academy  at  West  Point 
in  1853,  and  in  July  of  that  year,  was  assigned  to  the  1st  Infantry  as 
brevet  second  lieutenant.  He  was  ordered  to  Texas  where  he  served 
until  1855,  when  he  joined  the  4th  Infantry,  and  going  to  the  Pacific 
Coast  he  served  in  Washington  and  Oregon  Territories  until  the  fall 
of  1861.  From  December  of  that  year,  to  March  of  the  following  one, 
he  was  assigned  as  chief  quartermaster  and  commissary  of  the  Army  of 
the  Southwest.  He  afterwards  served,  in  like  capacity,  on  the  Staff  of 
General  Halleck,  in  the  Corinth  campaign.  In  May  he  was  appointed 
colonel  of  the  Second  Michigan  Cavalry,  and  took  part  in  the  success- 
ful expedition  to  destroy  the  Mobile  and  Ohio  Railroad  at  Booneville, 
Mississippi.  In  June  he  defeated  Forrest's  cavalry.  Taking  command 
of  the  2d  brigade  of  cavalry,  he  repulsed  and  defeated  a  superior 
Confederate  force  under  Chalmers,  at  Booneville,  in  July.  Fur  his 
gallantry  in  this  fierce  engagement  he  was  commissioned  brigadier- 
general  of  volunteers. 

In  September  he  was  transferred  to  the  Army  of  the  Ohio,  and 
commanded  General  Gilbert's  left  division  at  the  battle  of  Perryville. 

In  the  advance  to  Murfreesborough,  in  December,  he  led  a  divi- 
sion under  General  McCook,  and  much  of  the  successful  issue  of  the 
battle  of  Stone  River  was  due  to  him.  In  this  battle  he  rose  to  the 
rank  of  major-general  of  volunteers.  The  signal  service  rendered  at 
the  battles  of  Missionary  Ridge  and  Chickamauga,  by  Sheridan,  added 
still  further  to  his  renown.  When  Grant  was  promoted  to  be  lieutenant- 
general  he  applied  for  the  transfer  of  Sheridan  to  the  East,  and  ap- 
pointed him  chief  of  cavalry  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  where  he 
routed  the  Confederate  cavalry  in  several  engagements. 


PHILIP    HENRY  SHERIDAN. 


In  the  battle  of  Winchester,  Sheridan  defeated  Early.  The  fruits 
of  this  victory  were  five  cannons,  six  or  seven  thousand  email-arms, 
and  five  thousand  prisoners.  The  loss  of  the  Confederates  was  not 
less  than  seven  thousand.  lie  pursued  General  Early,  who  retreated 
to  Fisher's  Hill.  Here  a  battle  ensued  on  the  21st  of  September.  It 
was  waged  with  varying  success  until  evening.  The  Confederates 
were  then  driven  from  their  intrenchments  in  great  confusion.  Eleven 
hundred  prisoners  were  taken,  sixteen  pieces  of  artillery,  besides 
wagons,  horses,  &c.  In  a  week  Sheridau  had  destroyed  half  of  Early's 
army,  and  sent  the  rest  "  whirling  up  the  Valley  of  the  Shenandoah." 
To  prevent  any  further  raids  upon  Washington  from  this  direction,  he 
devastated  the  region  so  thoroughly  that  it  was  said,  "  If  a  crow  wants 
to  fly  down  the  Shenandoah,  he  must  carry  his  provisions  with  him." 

Early  was  quickly  reinforced,  and  under  cover  of  a  dense  fog  sur- 
prised the  Union  army  at  Cedar  Creek,  on  the  19th  of  October,  and 
drove  it  in  confusion.  Sheridan  heard  the  cannonading  at  Winchester, 
thirteen  miles  away.  Putting  spurs  to  his  steed,  he  never  stopped  till, 
his  horse  covered  with  foam,  he  dashed  upon  the  battle-flelcl  shouting, 
"  Turn,  boys,  turn  ;  we're  going  back."  His  presence  rallied  the  men, 
and, attacking  the  Confederates,  who  were  busy  plundering  the  captur- 
ed camp,  they  routed  them  with  great  slaughter. 

Though  Sheridan  had  lost  seventeen  thousand  men,  he  had  virtually 
destroyed  Early's  army.  This  campaign,  of  only  a  month's  duration, 
was  one  of  the  most  brilliant  of  the  Rebellion.  The  thanks  of  Con- 
gress were  bestowed  upon  the  army  and  its  gallant  leader,  and  on  the 
8th  of  November  he  was  appointed  major-general  of  the  regular  army. 
He  commanded  at  the  battle  of  Five  Forks,  where  he  gained  a  decisive 
victory,  and  captured  upward  of  six  thousand  prisoners  at  Sailors' 
Creek,  in  April,  1865.  Finally,  in  co-operation  with  General  Grant, 
he  compelled  the  surrender  of  General  Lee,  the  trusted  leader  of  the 
Confederate  army.  Near  Appomattox  Court  House,  on  the  9th  of 
April,  the  remains  of  the  army  of  Virginia  laid  down  their  arms  and 
turned  homeward.    This  affair  ended  the  war. 

During  the  next  two  years  General  Sheridan  performed  most 
valuable  service  in  Texas  and  Louisiana.  He  enforced  the  Reconstruc- 
tion Acts,  for  which  he  was  removed  by  President  Johnson  in  August, 
1867.  In  September  he  was  transferred  to  the  Department  of  the 
Missouri.  In  March,  1869,  he  was  promoted  to  be  lieutenant-general, 
and  assigned  to  the  command  of  the  Division  of  the  Missouri. 


WILLIAM   HENRY    MIL BURN 


Wm.  H.  Milbdkn,  "  the  blind  preacher,"  was  bom  in  Philadelphia; 
c»i  the  26th  of  September,  1823.  His  fatber,  who  wa9  a  merchant, 
meeting  with  reverses  in  fortune,  moved  to  Jacksonville,  Illinois,  in 
1837.    The  family  was  originally  from  Maryland. 

When  Mr.  Milburn  was  a  lad  about  five  years  of  age,  the  unfortu- 
nate accident  occurred  which  resulted  in  his  blindness.  This  cut  him 
off  from  most  boyish  sports,  and  he  became  absorbed  in  reading.  His 
passion  for  learning  was  early  exhibited,  and  in  his  new  Western  home 
his  time  was  divided  between  his  duties  as  clerk  in  his  father's  little 
store  and  his  studies.  He  read,  or  spelled  out,  various  authors,  and 
became  sufficiently  acquainted  with  the  Greek  and  Latin  languages  to 
enable  him  to  enter  in  1839,  the  Freshman  class  of  Illinois  Col  lew., 
then  under  the  Presidency  of  Dr.  Edward  Beecher.  All  was  prosper- 
ous until  his  health  suddenly  gave  way,  near  the  close  of  his  last  colle- 
giate year,  and  he  was  compelled  to  relinquish  his  studies.  Led  by  his 
religious  associations  he  engaged  in  the  service  of  the  Methodist 
Church,  as  an  itinerant  preacher.  Through  his  early  years  young  Mil- 
burn  had  listened  with  the  deepest  interest  to  the  stories  told  by  the 
travelling  Methodist  ministers  who  made  his  father's  house  a  resort. 
Under  the  impression  received  from  these  conversations,  and  the 
teachings  of  his  parents,  he  joined  the  Church  when  he  was  fourteen, 
with  the  intention  of  becoming  a  preacher ;  and  some  six  years 
later  he  entered  the  service  for  which  he  had  considered  himself 
destined. 

During  the  summer  of  1843,  he  traversed  a  region  of  one  thousand 
miles  in  extent,  preaching  on  every  Saturday  and  Sunday,  and  three 
or  four  times  during  the  week.  On  his  twentieth  birthday  he  was 
admitted  as  a  "  travelling  preacher  "  to  the  Illinois  Conference.  This 
mode  of  life  had  a  favorable  effect  upon  his  health,  and  he  was  ena- 
bled to  continue  on  the  various  Western  Circuits  for  twelve  years.  In 
1846  his  marriage  took  place.  The  same  year  he  became  Chaplain  of 
Congress.    In  1847,  he  went  to  the  South,  and  labored  in  Montgom- 


WILLIAM    II  EN  BY  MILBURN. 


ery,  Mobile,  and  elsewhere.  After  spending  about  six  years  in  the 
State  of  Alabama,  he  removed  to  the  city  of  New  York,  where  he 
became  a  popular  lecturer.  He  was  re-elected  chaplain  of  Congress, 
and  held  the  office  until  March,  1855.  In  1859  he  visited  England,  in 
company  with  Bishop  Simpson  and  the  Rev.  Dr.  McClintock,  and 
delivered  lectures  in  the  chief  cities  to  crowded  audiences.  During 
that  year  he  published  "  Ten  Years  of  a  Preacher's  Life,"  and  in  the 
following  year  "  Pioneers,  and  the  People  of  the  Mississippi  Valley." 

Mr.  Milburn  delivered  a  course  of  lectures  before  the  Lowell  Insti- 
tute, Boston,  entitled,  "  Sketches  of  the  Early  History  and  Settlement 
of  the  Mississippi  Valley."  Among  his  other  lectures  are  "  Songs  in 
the  Night,  or  the  Triumph  of  Genius  over  Blindness  ;  "  "  An  Hour's 
Talk  About  Women  ;  "  "  The  Southern  Man  ;  "  "  The  Rifle,  Axe,  and 
Saddle-bags ; "  "  Symbols  of  Early  Western  Character  and  Civiliza- 
tion." These  lectures  were  delivered  in  all  the  principal  places  in  the 
Union.  Two  of  his  more  recent  ones  are,  "  What  a  Blind  Man  Saw  in 
Paris,"  and  "  What  a  Blind  Man  Saw  in  California."  "  His  nearly  total 
loss  of  sight,  while  it  excited  the  sympathy  of  the  public,  made  no 
demands  upon  their  indulgence  or  forbearance.  On  the  contrary,  the 
lectures  were  always  spirited,  and  enlivened  with  the  fruits  of  various 
mental  acquisitions,  adding  one  more  to  the  many  honorable  examples 
of  '  the  pursuit  of  knowledge  under  difficulties.'  " 

At  one  time  he  was  pastor  of  the  Pacific  Street  Methodist  Church 
in  Brooklyn,  and  afterward  at  the  John  Street  Church,  in  New  York. 
He  subsequently  became  an  Episcopalian.  He  was  ordained  deacon 
in  1S65,  and  priest  in  1866,  by  Bishop  Hopkins  of  Vermont.  In 
1871  he  returned  to  the  Methodist  communion. 

"  In  the  pulpit  he  has  an  eloquence  beyond  his  words.  To  think 
that  he  is  blind,  and  still  able  to  conduct  an  entire  church  service,  is 
to  fill  the  mind  with  thoughts  approaching  veneration.  Presently  his 
soft,  sweet  voice  recites  a  hymn,  and  then  a  chapter  from  the  Bible. 
You  miss  the  books,  but  there  is  a  new  fascination  in  the  sacred  words 
spoken  from  the  memory  of  the  eloquent  blind  man.  His  sermon  is 
equally  impressive.  It  has  all  the  characteristics  of  an  extempore 
address,  and  is,  in  truth,  delivered  but  slightly  from  memory.  He  is 
not  boisterous  and  declamatory,  like  most  of  the  Methodist  ministers, 
but  proceeds  calmly,  tenderly,  and  always  eloquently.  His  effort  is  to 
be  entirely  natural,  and  to  touch  the  heart  rather  than  to  amaze  the 
mind.  At  times  he  shows  great  depth  of  feeling  with  his  subject,  and 
becomes  more  animated  in  his  delivery !  " 


JcfiW  MA.  W 


GFaitprScnlp1 


CATHARINE  MARIA 


SEDGWICK. 


Miss  Sedgwick  has  herself  traced  her  ancestry  to  Robert  Sedg 
wick,  who  was  sent  by  Oliver  Cromwell  as  governor  or  commissioner 
to  the  Island  of  Jamaica.  One  of  his  descendants,  Theodore,  rose  to 
be  one  of  the  Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Massachusetts.  He  was 
a  Federalist,  a  delegate  to  the  old  Constitutional  Congress,  a  supporter 
of  the  Constitution,  and  a  member  of  the  first  Congress  after  its  adop- 
tion. He  married  the  daughter  of  Brigadier-General  Dwight,  an 
officer  in  tbe  old  French  War.  In  1785  they  removed  to  Stockbridge, 
Massachusetts,  where  on  the  28th  of  December,  1789,  Catharine  Maria, 
the  sixth  child  and  second  daughter,  was  born.  Their  oldest  sou 
became  a  distinguished  lawyer  and  politician. 

Miss  Sedgwick's  childhood  passed  happily  at  home,  studying  at  the 
little  district  school,  until  at  the  age  of  thirteen  she  was  sent  to  a 
boarding-school,  and  again  at  fifteen  to  another  one  in  Boston.  After 
her  father's  death,  in  1813,  she  superintended  the  education  of  the 
young  ladies  and  girls  in  the  families  of  her  intimate  friends,  and 
continued  to  do  so  with  eminent  success  for  half  a  century. 

In  1822  she  commenced  her  career  as  an  author.  Her  first  work, 
"  A  New  England  Tale,"  which  was  commenced  as  a  tract,  but 
extended  to  the  size  of  a  novel,  appeared  anonymously.  Her  second 
novel,  "  Redwood,"  was  republished  in  England,  and  translated  into 
the  French,  Italian,  and  Swedish  languages.  In  1827  "  Hope  Leslie," 
one  of  the  most  popular  of  American  novels,  was  published.  The 
Reverend  Dr.  Greenwood  pronounced  it  the  best  of  her  three  works, 
and  in  the  "  North  American  Review  "  wrote  as  follows :  "  In  all, 
there  is  the  same  purity  and  delicacy  ;  the  same  deep  and  solemn 
breathing  of  religion  without  parade,  and  of  piety  without  cant  or 
censoriousness ;  the  same  love  of  the  grand  and  lovely  in  nature, 
together  with  the  same  power  so  to  express  that  love  as  to  waken  it  up 
ardently,  devotionally  in  others;  the  same  occasional  touches  of  merry 
wit  and  playful  satire  ;  the  same  glowing  fancy  ;  and,  spread  through 
all,  and  regulating  all,  the  same  good  sense,  leading  to  a  right  appro- 


CATHARINE   MARIA  SEDGWICK. 


hension  of  human  motives,  restraining  genius  from  extravagance, 
giving  an  air  of  reality  to  the  narrative,  and  securing  our  constant 
respect  for  the  narrator." 

Miss  Sedgwick  published  several  other  novels,  which  met  with  the 
uniform  success  that  had  attended  her  previous  productions.  She 
also  became  greatly  distinguished  in  a  series  of  practical  tales,  which 
she  wrote  for  the  purpose  of  illustrating  the  ordinary  events  of  every- 
day life  and  manners  with  a  moral,  and  to  suggest  the  improvement 
of  social  relations  and  the  development  of  individual  character. 

In  1838  Miss  Sedgwick  accompanied  her  brother,  Mr.  .Robert 
Sedgwick,  and  his  wife,  on  a  tour  through  portions  of  Europe.  Upon 
her  return  to  America  she  published  an  account  of  her  European  visit 
containing  interesting  notices  of  English  life,  sketches  of  the  literary 
people  and  other  celebrities  whom  she  met  in  various  places,  and  many 
other  items  of  interest. 

Miss  Sedgwick  wrote  much  for  the  periodicals,  and  continued  her 
literary  occupations  until  within  a  few  years  of  her  death,  which 
occurred  when  she  was  in  the  seventy-eighth  year  of  her  age.  She 
died  in  her  native  place,  one  of  the  most  beautiful  villages  of  Berk- 
shire, on  the  31st  of  July,  1867.  Here  Miss  Sedgwick's  life  was  prin- 
cipally passed.  A  lover  of  nature  in  all  its  forms,  she  took  an 
unceasing  delight  in  her  garden,  not  confining  her  attention  alone  to 
her  flowers,  but  taking  a  practical  interest  in  the  vegetables  and  fruits. 
She  was  a  most  valuable  member  of  society.  Her  frequent  breakfast 
parties  were  long  remembered  by  those  who  were  favored  with  an 
invitation.  She  greeted  her  guests  with  a  cordial  warmth  which  set 
old  and  young,  rich  and  poor,  equally  at  ease,  and  entertained  them 
by  her  sprightly  conversation.  Miss  Sedgwick  was  actively  connected 
with  the  Women's  Prison  Association  of  New  York,  and  the  "  Isaac 
T.  Hopper  Home,"  for  the  reception  and  employment  of  women  dis- 
charged from  prison.  She  was,  indeed,  a  friend  to  the  poor,  sympa- 
thizing with  them,  and  supplying  their  wants  to  the  best  of  her  ability  ; 
visiting  prisons  and  public  institutions,  and  personally  ministering  to 
the  sick  and  suffering.  Her  friend,  Mrs.  Kemble,  wrote  :  "  Perhaps 
the  quality  which  most  particularly  distinguished  her  from  other 
remarkable  persons  I  have  known  was  her  great  simplicity  and  trans- 
parency of  character — a  charm  seldom  combined  with  as  much  intel- 
lectual keenness  as  she  possessed,  and  very  seldom  retained  by  persons 
living  as  much  as  she  did  in  the  world,  and  receiving  from  society  a 
tribute  of  general  admiration." 


SAM  HOUSTON. 


The  early  years  of  this  soldier  and  statesman  were  spent  in  a  far 
different  manner  and  place,  and  with  companions  utterly  unlike  those 
of  the  majority  of  our  public  men.  Sam  Houston  was  born  near  Lex- 
ington, Rockbridge  County,  Virginia,  on  the  2d  of  March,  1793.  His 
father,  who  was  a  soldier  in  the  War  of  the  Revolution,  died  when  his 
son  was  quite  young.  Soon  after  his  death,  his  wife,  an  intelligent  and 
energetic  woman,  removed  with  her  family  to  Blount  County,  Tennes- 
see, at  that  time  the  limit  of  civilization.  Their  new  home  was  within 
a  few  miles  of  the  Cherokee  country,  and  young  Houston  took  up  his 
abode  with  the  Indians  of  that  tribe.  It  has  been  more  than  hinted 
that  he  absconded,  his  strong  predilection  for  this  mode  of  life  leading 
him  to  pass  about  three  years  with  them,  living  after  their  own  fashion. 
At  the  end  of  that  time  he  suddenly  returned  to  his  family,  but  still 
retained  and  seemed  to  do  so  throughout  his  life,  a  preference  for  the 
wild  freedom  of  savage  life  to  that  of  civilization,  with  its  irksome 
restraints  as  well  as  comforts  and  luxuries.  But  his  few  years'  expos- 
ure to  a  life  of  adventure,  with  the  wild  men  born  and  trained  to  it, 
inured  him  to  hardship,  and  proved  a  most  beneficial  experience  in 
preparing  him  for  his  future  career  as  a  soldier.  After  serving  as 
clerk  to  a  country  trader,  and  keeping  school  for  a  short  time,  he 
abandoned  both  pursuits  ;  and,  in  1813,  during  the  war  with  Great 
Britain,  enlisted  in  the  army  as  a  common  soldier.  He  served  under 
Jackson  in  the  war  with  the  Creek  Indians,  and  fought  with  a  courage 
that  won  the  admiration  and  friendship  of  his  general.  He  succeeded 
in  distinguishing  himself  so  highly,  that  at  the  close  of  the  war  he  had 
risen  to  the  rank  of  lieutenant.  Resigning  his  commission  in  the  army 
in  1818,  he  studied  law  in  Nashville. 

About  this  time  his  political  life  began.  He  held  several  minor 
offices  in  Tennessee,  and,  in  1823,  was  chosen  member  of  Congress, 
and  held  this  position  for  four  years,  at  the  end  of  which  time  he  was 
elected  Governor  of  the  State  of  Tennessee.    In  January,  1829,  he 


SAM  HOUSTON. 


married  the  daughter  of  an  ex-governor  ;  and  in  the  following  April, 
for  unexplained  reasons,  resigned  his  office,  left  wife,  home,  and  all, 
and  went  to  take  up  his  abode  among  the  Cherokees  in  Arkansas. 
The  chief  of  that  nation  adopted  him  as  a  son,  and  he  was  formally 
admitted  as  a  chief.  Some  of  the  government  agents  had  been  in  the 
habit  of  practising  frauds  upon  the  Indians ;  Houston,  becoming 
acquainted  with  the  facts,  went  to  Washington  for  the  purpose  of  ex- 
posing them.  He  succeeded  in  procuring  the  removal  of  several 
agents,  but  this  got  him  into  difficulties  with  their  personal  friends, 
and  he  became  involved  in  several  lawsuits  ;  so  he  was  indeed  glad  to 
return  to  his  adopted  people.  He  was  elected  to  the  Constitutional 
Convention  during  a  visit  to  Texas,  in  1833,  and  after  the  rejection  of 
the  result  by  Santa  Anna,  he  was  made  commander-in-chief  of  the 
Texan  army.  He  conducted  the  war  with  great  ability,  and  brought  it 
to  a  successful  termination  by  the  brilliant  and  decisive  battle  of  San 
Jacinto,  in  April,  1836,  in  which  he  put  to  rout  the  entire  Mexican 
army,  and  achieved  the  independence  of  Texas.  Santa  Anna  was 
taken  the  day  after  the  battle.  He  was  disguised  as  a  countryman, 
and  surrendered  himself  as  a  common  soldier.  As  he,  with  the  officer 
who  had  captured  him,  passed  the  Mexican  prisoners,  they  unwittingly 
betrayed  his  secret  by  saluting  him  as  their  President.  Upon  coming 
into  the  presence  of  Houston,  who  was  seriously  wounded,  Santa  Anna 
exclaimed  that  that  general  was  born  to  no  common  destiny,  for  he  had 
conquered  "  the  Napoleon  of  the  South." 

In  October  of  the  same  year  General  Houston  was  inaugurated 
first  President  of  the  Republic  of  Texas,  and  was  re-elected  in  1841. 
He  retired  from  office  before  his  favorite  scheme  of  annexing  Texas  to 
the  United  States  was  effected.  After  the  annexation  he  was  United 
States  Senator.  While  in  the  Senate,  true  to  his  old  friends,  he  was 
a  warm  advocate  of  justice  and  humanity  to  the  Indians.  In  1859  he 
was  elected  Governor  of  Texas.  He  opposed  the  secession  movement, 
but  retired  into  private  life  when  he  found  opposition  was  useless.  He 
died  in  Huntersville,  Texas,  in  July,  1861.  General  Sam  Houston  was 
described  as  being  tall,  and  straight  as  an  Indian,  and  of  perfect  pro- 
portions ;  his  countenance  commanding,  with  sharp  gray  eyes,  and  nose 
like  the  beak  of  an  eagle.  He  was  no  ordinary  man,  for  though 
entirely  self-taught  he  had  few  superiors  in  debate  oi  in  battle.  In 
both  capacities  he  displayed  such  good  sense  and  courage,  that  he  won 
the  high  regard  of  his  countrymen,  a  people  ever  ready  to  honor  those 
to  whom  honor  belongs. 


ROBERT  ANDERSON. 


Robert  Andekson  was  born  near  Louisville,  Kentucky,  June  14th, 
1S05.  lie  graduated  from  West  Point  Military  Academe  in  1825,  and 
was  commissioned  a  second  lieutenant  of  infantry.  During  the  Black 
Hawk  War,  in  1832,  he  was  Inspector-General  of  the  Illinois  volun- 
teers, and  the  next  year  was  promoted  to  a  first  lieutenancy,  and  be- 
came instructor  and  inspector  at  West  Point.  He  became  aid-de-camp 
to  General  Scott  in  1838  ;  in  April  of  that  year  received  the  brevet  of 
captain,  earned  by  his  gallantry  in  the  Florida  War.  He  afterwards 
served  as  assistant  adjutant-general,  having  the  rank  of  captain;  but 
on  being  promoted  to  the  captaincy  of  his  own  regiment,  he  relin- 
quished the  office  in  1841. 

He  was  actively  engaged  through  the  whole  Mexican  War,  and 
was  severely  wounded  in  the  attack  on  El  Molino  del  Rey,  while  forc- 
ing an  entrance  into  that  strong  position.  For  his  gallantry  and  in- 
trepidity in  this  action,  he  was  breveted  major,  September,  1847.  In 
October,  1S57,  he  was  promoted  a  major  in  the  First  Regiment  of 
Artillery,  a  position  which  he  held  on  the  breaking  out  of  the  Civil  War. 

Early  in  December,  1S60,  Major  Anderson  was  ordered  to  relieve 
Colonel  Gardiner  in  command  of  Fort  Moultrie,  Charleston  Harbor. 
On  the  19th  of  that  month,  South  Carolina  seceded  from  the  Union, 
and  soon  commenced  hostile  demonstrations.  Moultrie  was  out  of 
repair,  garrisoned  by  only  sixty  men  ;  reinforcements  were  denied 
them,  and  hostilities  daily  grew  more  imminent.  On  the  night  of  the 
26th,  Major  Anderson  dismantled  the  fort,  spiked  its  guns,  and  con- 
veyed its  garrison  and  stores  to  Fort  Sumter — an  octagonal,  casemated 
fortress  of  great  strength.  Events  drifted  fast  to  a  crisis.  At  half- 
past  three  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  12th  of  April,  1861,  Major 
Anderson  was  notified  that  the  batteries  under  command  of  General 
Beauregard  would  open  on  Fort  Sumter  in  one  hour.  Accordingly,  at 
half-past  four  o'clock,  the  first  blow  at  the  heart  of  the  Union  was 
struck.  As  the  fire  of  the  enemy  became  warm,  it  was  found  that 
every  portion  of  the  fort  was  exposed  to  the  mortars,  and  shells  burst 
in  every  direction.    At  six  o'clock  p.m.,  Sumter's  fire  ceased,  but  that 


ROBERT  ANDERSON. 


of  the  enemy  was  kept  up  all  night,  with  little  cessation.  At  seven 
o'clock  the  next  morning  Sumter  reopened  her  fire.  An  hour  after, 
the  officers'  quarters  caught  fire,  and  the  work  of  the  guns  was  neces- 
sarily slackened.  By  noon,  the  whole  roof  of  the  barracks  was  in 
flames,  the  magazine  emptied,  and  the  doors  closed  ;  but  as  the  fire 
spread,  the  powder  had  to  be  thrown  overboard.  The  flag-staff  was 
cut,  and  the  flag  then  nailed  to  the  cut  piece,  and  raised  upon  the  ram- 
parts. At  this  time,  both  officers  and  men  were  compelled  to  lie  flat 
upon  their  faces,  and  hold  wet  cloths  to  their  mouths  to  avoid  suffoca- 
tion. At  one  o'clock,  p.m.,  the  flag  of  Fort  Sumter  was  drawn  down, 
and  the  fort  was  surrendered  on  honorable  terms. 

On  the  15th  of  April,  Major  Anderson  evacuated  Fort  Sumter,  and 
after  saluting  his  flag,  embarked  for  New  York,  where  he  met  with  a 
most  enthusiastic  reception.  On  the  22d,  he  received  the  thanks  of 
the  government  for  his  conduct  at  Fort  Sumter,  and  on  the  24th  of 
May,  he  was  appointed  brigadier-general  in  the  volunteer  service  of 
the  United  States.  lie  was  assigned  to  the  Department  of  Kentucky, 
which  he  assumed  the  command  of  on  the  21st  of  September,  and 
issued  a  spirited  proclamation,  calling  upon  Kentuckians  of  all  parties 
to  assist  in  repelling  the  invaders  of  the  State.  He  relinquished  his 
command  in  October,  and  returned  to  New  York.  In  June,  1862,  he 
was  made  a  colonel  and  brevet  brigadier-general  of  the  regular  army 
of  the  United  States,  and  in  1865,  the  rank  of  brevet  major-general 
was  conferred  upon  him. 

Major-General  Robert  Anderson  died  at  Nice,  France,  on  the  26th 
of  October,  1871.  His  health  had  been  broken  by  long  service  in  the 
army,  and  by  the  hardships  and  anxieties  he  endured  while  holding 
Fort  Sumter,  where  his  constitution  received  a  severe  shock,  from 
which  he  never  recovered,  and  he  had  sought  relief  in  the  mild  cli- 
mate of  Southern  France  and  Italy. 

In  personal  appearance,  General  Anderson  was  about  five  feet  nine 
inches  in  height,  his  figure  well  set  and  soldierly.  His  complexion 
had  been  swarthy,  but  his  severe  illness  had  changed  it  to  decided 
paleness.  His  eye  was  dark,  but  full  of  fire  and  intelligence  ;  his 
nose  somewhat  prominent.  He  was  very  courteous  and  gentlemanly, 
and  his  rich  voice  and  abundant  gesticulation  went  well  together.  He 
was  noted  for  being  firm  and  dignified  in  conversation,  and  at  the  same 
time  perfectly  agreeable  to  all  with  whom  he  came  in  contact.  The 
memory  of  this  Christian  soldier  and  gentleman  will  ever  be  cherished 
by  his  countrymen. 


THOMAS    STARR  KING-. 


Thomas  Starr  King  takes  his  rank  among  eminent  American 
divines  and  authors  as  a  man  of  rare  genius,  originality,  and  eloquence, 
lie  was  born  in  New  York  City,  in  the  month  of  December,  1824.  His 
father,  Rev.  Thomas  F.  King,  was  a  distinguished  Universalist  clergy- 
man of  New  England.  In  1828  he  settled  at  Portsmouth,  "New  Hamp- 
shire, where  his  son  Starr,  as  he  was  called  by  his  friends,  received  the 
elements  of  an  English  education  at  a  private  school,  and  also  acquired 
a  considerable  acquaintance  with  the  French  and  Latin  languages  before 
he  reached  the  age  of  ten  years. 

In  1835  his  father  went  to  Charlestown,  Massachusetts,  to  take 
charge  of  the  Universalist  Society  at  that  place.  Here  young  King 
attended  the  Bunker  Hill  Grammar  School,  and  afterward  the  "Win- 
throp  School.  The  illness  of  his  father,  and  the  straitened  circum- 
stances of  the  family  induced  him  to  become  a  clerk  in  a  dry-goods 
store  in  Charlestown.  In  1859  his  father  died,  leaving  his  wife  entirely 
dependent  for  support  upon  her  son,  who  was  then  but  fifteen  years 
old.  At  once  relinquishing — for  the  present,  at  least — all  hope  of  en- 
tering college,  for  which  he  had  been  preparing  with  the  view  of 
becoming  a  minister  of  the  Gospel,  he  devoted  his  time  and  earnings  to 
the  care  of  his  mother.  About  a  year  after  the  death  of  his  father, 
some  of  his  friends  succeeded  in  obtaining  for  him  an  appointment  as 
assistant  teacher  at  the  JBnnker  Hill  Grammar  School,  which  position 
he  continued  to  hold  until  1842,  when  he  became  principal  of  the 
neighboring  West  Grammar  School  of  Medford.  The  following  year 
he  left  this  situation  for  a  clerkship  in  the  government  employ,  at  the 
Charlestown  Navy  Yard.  During  the  intervals  from  his  duties  as  a 
school-teacher,  and  in  the  Navy  Yard,  he  diligently  continued  his 
studies. 

In  1846  Mr.  King,  having  previously  preached  to  a  small  Univer- 
salist Society  in  Boston,  was  ordained,  and  succeeded  the  Rev.  Dr, 


THOMAS    STARR  KING. 


Chapin  as  pastor  of  the  church  at  Charlestown,  formerly  presided 
over  hy  his  father.  He  remained  here  for  two  years,  when  he  was 
called  to  take  charge  of  the  Hollis  Street  Congregational  Church  in 
Boston.  He  occupied  this  station  until  I860.  In  April  of  that  year 
he  sailed  for  San  Francisco,  to  take  pastoral  charge  of  the  Congrega- 
tional Church  in  that  city.  He  became  at  once  a  most  decided 
favorite.  His  genial  temperament,  good-humor,  and  ready  wit  won 
the  hearts  of  his  people.  His  exertions  in  behalf  of  the  Union,  and  his 
uncompromising  stand  taken  against  the  Rebellion,  greatly  influenced 
the  popular  opinion  in  California.  The  last  four  years  of  his  useful 
life  were  spent  at  San  Francisco.  He  died  there  on  the  4th  of  March, 
1864 

As  a  public  speaker,  Mr.  King  happily  combined  elegance  with 
energy.  The  occasional  addresses  and  popular  lectures  he  delivered 
gained  him  an  extended  reputation,  and  he  was  in  great  demand  as  a 
lecturer.  Among  his  literary  productions  were  various  review  articles, 
published  in  Dr.  Ballou's  "  Universalist  Quarterly."  He  was  the 
author  of  an  elaborate  work  "  marked  by  his  peculiar  enthusiasm  and 
eloquence,"  entitled  "  The  White  Hills ;  their  Legends,  Landscape,  and 
Poetry."  This  is  a  description  of  the  mountain  scenery  of  New 
Hampshire.  It  is  written  "  with  the  fancy  of  a  poet,  the  minute  obser- 
vation and  enthusiasm  of  an  ardent  lover  of  nature,  and  the  spiritual 
insight  of  a  philosopher."  The  book  was  published  in  1859,  and  was 
illustrated  by  pictures  of  the  scenery  from  sketches  by  Mr.  Wheelock. 
Immediately  after  Mr.  King's  death,  a  volume  of  selections  from  hia 
review  articles  and  theological  discourses  was  published  in  Boston, 
bearing  the  title,  "  Patriotism  and  other  Papers."  It  was  prefaced  by 
a  biographical  sketch  of  the  author,  by  his  friend  Mr.  Bichard  Froth- 
ingham,  the  historian.  He  has  since  narrated  Mr.  King's  career  more 
at  length  in  a  spirited  memorial  volume,  entitled  "  A  Tribute  to  the 
Memory  of  Thomas  Starr  King." 

"  The  great  work  laid  upon  his  two-score  years, 
Is  done  and  well  done.    If  we  drop  our  tears 
Who  loved  him  as  few  men  were  ever  loved, 
We  mourn  no  blighted  hope  nor  broken  plan, 
With  him  whose  life  stands  rounded  and  approved, 
In  the  full  growth  and  stature  of  a  man." 


GEORGE    P.  MORRIS. 


The  American  poet  whose  name  heads  this  sketch  was  horn  in 
Philadelphia  in  October,  1802.  Removing  to  New  York  at  an  early 
age,  he  wrote  for  the  New  York  Gazette  and  the  American,  and 
contributed  verses  when  he  was  in  his  fifteenth  year.  In  1823  he, 
together  with  the  late  Samuel  Woodworth,  commenced  the  publication 
of  the  New  York  Mirror,  and  continued  it  with  great  success  for 
several  years.  It  was  a  representative  of  the  best  literary,  dramatic, 
and  artistic  interests  of  the  day,  and  among  the  contributors  to  its 
pages  were  numerous  writers  of  distinction.  In  1843  Mr.  Morris, 
in  conjunction  with  Mr.  N.  P.  Willis,  began  to  publish  The  New 
Mirror.  It  was  successful,  but  was  only  continued  for  about  a  year 
and  a  half,  when  Mr.  Morris  and  Mr.  Willis,  assisted  by  Mr.  Hi  ram 
Fuller,  established  the  Evening  Mirror,  a  daily.  At  the  close  of 
1845  Mr.  Morris  commenced  a  new  weekly  journal,  The  National 
Press,  which  he  conducted  for  nearly  a  year,  when  he  was  joined  by 
his  old  friend  and  partner,  Mr.  Willis.  Changing  the  name  to  that  of 
the  Home  Journal,  they  continued  to  edit  it  until  within  a  short 
time  of  Mr.  Morris's  death,  which  occurred  at  New  York  City,  July  6, 
1864.  "  The  uniform  success  of  his  newspaper  enterprises  was  due  to 
his  editorial  tact  and  judgment,  his  shrewd  sense  of  the  public  require- 
ments, and  his  provision  for  the  more  refined  and  permanently  accept- 
able departments  of  literature.  Good  taste  and  delicacy  always 
presided  over  the  journals  conducted  by  Mr.  Morris." 

Mr.  Morris  was  at  one  time  a  Brigadier-General  in  the  militia  of 
the  State  of  New  York.  One  of  his  earliest  productions  was  the 
drama  of  "  Brier  Cliff,"  a  play  founded  upon  events  of  the  American 
Revolution.  It  was  performed  fort}'  nights  in  succession  in  a  New 
York  theatre,  and  proved  quite  a  pecuniary  success  to  the  author.  In 
1842  he  composed  the  libretto  of  an  opera,  "  The  Maid  of  Saxony,': 
which  had  a  run  of  fourteen  nights  at  the  Park  Theatre. 


GEORGE  P.  MORRIS. 


Mr.  Morris,  or,  as  he  has  been  termed,  the  "  Song-writer  of  Amer- 
ica," produced  his  popular  odes  and  lyrics  at  intervals  during  his  liter- 
ary career.  They  were  written  for  a  wide  diversity  of  occasions, 
temperaments,  and  modes  of  feeling  ;  and  his  ballads,  patriotic  songs, 
and  songs  on  other  topics  have  been  set  to  music  and  sung  in  the  Old 
World  and  in  the  New.  "  Mr.  Morris  had  an  easy  command  of 
rhythm  and  metre.  His  verses  are  music  to  the  ear  as  well  as  poetry 
to  the  inward  sense.  They  are  not  such  verses  as  feebly  suit  existing 
melodies,  but  such  as  would  of  themselves  inspire  and  reward  the 
musical  composer,  and  could  not  fail  to  prescribe  and  enforce  at  his 
hand  each  its  appropriate  style  of  treatment.  They  commonly  seize 
on  the  one  central  idea  of  the  occasion  or  theme,  give  perfect  unity  to 
its  expression,  and  group  around  just  those  subsidiary  thoughts  that 
render  it  more  emphatic." 

"  In  many  a  street,  lane,  and  alley,  in  those  days,  might  be  heard 
from  barrel-organs,  hurdy-gurdys,  bag-pipe,  and  fiddle,  aye,  and  from 
grand  pianos,  too,  played  upon  by  fair  fingers,  on  still  summer  even- 
ings, windows  half-open  to  allow  the  melody  to  stream  through 
screens  formed  by  flowers  and  foliage,  that  famous  song,  '  "Wood- 
man, spare  that  tree  ; '  such  was  the  popularity  of  Morris's  songs." 

Willis,  in  a  letter  to  Graham's  Magazine,  said:  "Mr.  Morris 
is  the  best  known  poet  of  the  country — by  acclamation,  not  by 
criticism.  He  is  just  what  poets  .would  be  if  they  sang,  like  birds, 
without  criticism  ;  and  it  is  a  peculiarity  of  his  fame  that  it  seems  as 
regardless  of  criticism  as  a  bird  in  the  air.  Nothing  can  stop  a  song 
of  his.  It  is  very  easy  to  say  that  they  are  easy  to  do.  They  have  a 
momentum,  somehow,  that  it  is  difficult  for  others  to  give,  and  that 
speeds  them  to  the  far  goal  of  popularity — the  best  proof  consisting  in 
the  fact  that  he  can  at  any  moment  get  fifty  dollars  for  a  song  unread, 
when  the  whole  remainder  of  the  American  Parnassus  could  not  sell 
one  to  the  same  buyer  for  a  shilling." 

Let  us  describe  the  man.  He  was  about  five  feet  two.  His  face 
was  genial  and  pleasant.  Short,  crisp,  dark, curly  hair,  thinly  streaked 
with  silver  threads,  encircled  a  high,  well-formed  forehead,  beneath 
which  was  a  pair  of  bright,  twinkling  black  eyes.  The  nose  was  well- 
shaped,  and  the  mouth  and  chin  cast  in  delicate  moulds,  the  latter 
being  slightly  dimpled,  and  the  complexion  fresh  and  fair. 


CHARLES  SUMNER. 


CHARLES 


SUMNER. 


The  great  Massachusetts  Senator  "  was  the  last  of  the  great  trium 
virate  of  anti-slavery  Senators  who  succeeded  that  other  trio  of  the 
earlier  and  darker  epoch.  The  work  of  the  later  three,  Seward,  Chase, 
and  Sumner,  was  incomparably  greater  and  more  beneficent  than  that 
of  Webster,  Clay,  and  Calhoun.  It  is  a  cnrious  fact  that  Mr.  Sumner 
took  his  seat  in  the  Senate  on  the  day  that  Mr.  Clay,  the  last  of  the  elder 
three,  left  it  forever.  The  two  men  typified  the  two  eras  of  our  politics. 
Henry  Clay  was  the  great  compromiser.  Charles  Sumner  was  one  of 
the  most  uncompromising  men  that  ever  lived." 

Charles  Sumner,  the  son  of  Charles  Pinckney  Sumner,  was  born  at 
Boston,  January  6th,  1811.  After  graduating  from  Harvard  in  1830, 
he  entered  the  law  school  under  the  tuition  of  Judge  Story,  and  being 
admitted  to  the  bar  in  due  time,  at  once  obtained  a  large  practice.  In 
1837,  he  visited  Europe  where  he  remained  three  years,  studying  and 
travelling,  and  enjoying  social  intercourse  with  the  most  distinguished 
men  of  the  day.  He  brought  back  from  his  trip  "  a  wealth  of  informa- 
tion, a  sincerity  of  devotion  to  freedom,  a  ripeness  of  culture,  an  ear- 
nestness in  the  pursuit  of  truth,  and  an  independence  of  character  such 
as  have  been  rarely  given  to  American  statesmen."  On  his  return  to 
America  he  resumed  the  practice  of  the  law,  but  did  not  take  much 
active  part  in  politics  till  the  annexation  of  Texas  was  proposed,  when 
he  opposed  it  in  a  speech  delivered  in  Fanueil  Hall  on  the  Fourth  of 
July,  1845,  entitled  the  "True  Grandeur  of  Nations."  Cobden  consid- 
ered this  to  be  the  most  noble  contribution  made  by  any  modern  writer 
to  the  cause  of  peace.  When  Daniel  Webster  resigned  his  seat  in  the 
Senate  to  become  President  Fillmore's  Secretary  of  State,  Mr.  Sumner 
succeeded  him  as  United  States  Senator.  His  numerous  speeches  and 
orations  have  been  collected  and  published.  The  following  was  writ- 
ten near  the  commencement  of  his  political  career:  "He  has  great 
power  of  condensation,  without  the  wearisome  monotony  which  often 


CnAKLES  SUMNER. 


accompanies  the  writings  and  sayings  of  close  thinkers  and  rigid  reason- 
ers.  There  is  a  vigorous  and  graceful  stateliness,  an  easy  felicity,  a 
fastidious  accuracy,  and  an  imperial  dignity  in  his  style,  which  is  both 
commanding  and  fascinating.  There  is  a  vast  breadth  of  comprehen- 
sion and  a  vast  depth  of  meaning  in  his  matter.  .  .  .  His  orations  are 
written  with  great  care.  They  abound  with  allusions  to  the  sayings 
and  doings  of  the  ancients,  and  manifest  deep  research  and  profound 
thought.  His  brilliant  arguments  at  the  bar  have  elicited  unbounded 
admiration,  and  his  model  manner  of  delivery  enhances  the  value  of 
his  eloquent  appeals."  This  is  more  recent :  "  We  have  in  our  posses- 
sion many  of  Mr.  Sumner's  speeches ;  and  we  confess  that,  for  depth 
and  accuracy  of  thought,  for  fulness  of  historical  information,  and  for 
a  species  of  gigantic  morality  which  treads  all  sophistry  under  foot  and 
rushes  at  once  to  the  right  conclusion,  we  know  not  a  single  orator, 
speaking  the  English  tongue,  who  ranks  as  his  superior." 

In  his  political  course  Mr.  Sumner  was  ever  a  strong  advocate  of 
anti-slavery,  and  for  years  delivered  speeches  and  labored  zealously  in 
its  behalf.  "  There  were  censures  of  his  taste,  of  his  epithets,  of  his 
rhetoric,  of  his  style,  while  he  was  doing  a  giant's  work  in  rousing  and 
saving  a  nation.  How  many  a  critic  points  out  the  defects  of  St. 
Peter's  !  Aud  St.  Peter's  remains  one  of  the  grandest  temples  in  the 
world.  He  loved  duty  more  than  friendship,  and  he  feared  dishonor 
more  than  any  foe.  He  measured  truly  the  real  forces  around  him, 
and  he  saw  more  clearly  than  any  American  statesman  that  ever  lived 
the  vital  relation  between  political  morality  and  national  prosperity." 

After  the  delivery  of  his  famous  speech,  "  The  Crime  against 
Kansas,"  in  1856,  he  was  assaulted  by  Preston  S.  Brooks,  Senator  from 
South  Carolina,  and  so  severely  injured  as  to  be  unable  to  resume  his 
public  duties  for  three  or  four  years.  Indeed  he  never  fully  rallied 
from  the  blow.  He  appeared  in  the  Senate  for  the  last  time  only  the 
day  before  his  death.  His  grave  is  in  Mount  Auburn  Cemetery, 
Boston.  "It  is  a  pleasant  spot  on  a  little  path  just  to  one  side  of  the 
main  road,  which  runs  from  the  chapel  to  the  tower.  A  great  oak 
rises  a  little  before  you  get  to  the  grave,  and  throws  its  kindly  shade 
over  the  statesman's  resting-place.  No  magnificent  monumental  shaft 
with  elaborate  epitaphs  marks  the  spot  where  the  great  Senator  sleeps, 
but  a  plain  white  tablet,  only  a  foot  or  so  in  height,  with  the  brief  in- 
scription, 'Charles  Sumner,  born  Jan.  6,  1811,  died  March  11,  1874:,- 
informs  the  stranger  that  he  stands  before  the  grave  of  a  giant." 


JOHN   PAUL  JONES. 


No  name  is  more  celebrated  among  naval  heroes  than  that  of  J»  hn 
Paul  Jones,  that  brave,  intrepid  man,  who  rendered  such  good  service 
in  the  war  for  American  independence.  "  Such  men  were  required  by 
our  country  in  the  time  of  her  utmost  need.  Had  higher  rewards  and 
honors  than  she  conferred,  been  at  her  command,  they  would  have 
been  bestowed.  She  treated  him  as  one  of  those  illustrious  men  whom 
she  regarded  as  having  rendered  the  most  eminent  and  enduring  ser- 
vice ;  and  his  vindicated  fame  will  live  as  long  as  her  revolutionary 
story  shall  exist  in  the  records,  or  dwell  in  the  memory  of  mankind." 

John  Paul  Jones  was  born  at  Arbigland,  on  Solway  Firth,  Scotland, 
on  the  6th  of  July,  1747.  He  went  to  sea  at  an  early  age.  While  still 
quite  young,  he  was  placed  in  command  of  a  vessel  in  the  West  India 
trade.  His  brother,  who  died  in  Virginia  in  1773,  left  him  considera- 
ble property,  and  he  settled  down  for  a  short  time  to  a  quiet  life. 

When  the  war  broke  out,  John  Paul — for  such  was  his  original 
name — offered  his  services  to  Congress,  and  was  made  a  first  lieutenant 
in  the  navy  on  the  22d  of  December,  1775.  In  gratitude  to  General 
Jones  of  North  Carolina,  who  had  strongly  recommended  him,  he 
assumed  his  name.  His  first  expedition  was  under  Commodore  Hop- 
kins against  New  Providence.  On  this  cruise,  he  himself  hoisted  the 
American  flag,  being  the  first  time  that  it  was  raised  on  board  of  a 
public  vessel  in  commission  from  the  Continental  Congress.  He  was 
next  placed  in  command  of  "The  Providence,"  with  which  in  six 
weeks  he  took  sixteen  prizes.  In  1777  he  was  ordered  to  Europe  ; 
and  in  February,  1778,  received  from  Count  D'Orvilliers  the  first  salute 
ever  paid  to  the  American  flag  by  a  foreign  man-of-war.  In  April 
he  scaled  the  walls  of  the  fort  at  Whitehaven,  and  spiked  38  cannon 
there.  His  crew  having  plundered  the  house  of  the  Earl  of  Selkirk  of 
the  family  plate,  Jones  bought  it  from  them  and  returned  it.  After  a 
successful  cruise  along  the  coast  of  Great  Britain,  he  returned  to  Brest, 


JOHN    PAUL  JONES. 


He  was  detained  in  France  until  August,  1779,  when  he  sailed  to 
intercept  the  Baltic  fleet.  Upon  his  discovery  of  the  fleet  his  memora- 
ble action  against  the  "  Serapis,"  occurred  off  the  coast  of  England 
His  ship  was  the  "  Bon  Homme  Richard  "  (Goodman  Richard).  lie  had 
given  it  this  name  in  honor  of  Dr.  Franklin,  whose  sayings  as  "  Poor 
Richard "  he  greatly  admired.  As  the  enemy  carried  heavier  guns, 
he  lashed  the  two  vessels  together.  The  muzzles  of  the  guns  touched, 
and  the  gunners,  in  working  their  pieces  often  thrust  their  ramrods 
into  the  port-holes  of  the  other  ship.  For  two  hours  they  fought  hand 
to  hand  with  musket,  pike,  and  cutlass.  The  "Bon  Homme  Richard" 
was  old  and  rotten,  and  soon  became  almost  unmanageable.  Water 
poured  into  the  hold.  Only  three  of  the  guns  could  be  worked. 
Grenades  were  thrown  on  the  "  Serapis "  and  flames  burst  out  in 
a  dozen  places.  Three  times  both  vessels  were  on  fire.  At  last 
Pearson,  the  captain  of  the  "  Serapis,"  struck  his  colors.  The  "  Bon 
Homme  Richard  "  was  already  sinking.  Jones  transferred  his  men  to 
the  captured  frigate,  and  sailed  off  with  his  prize.  He  was  enthusi- 
astically welcomed  in  France,  and  received  from  Louis  XVI.  the  order 
of  military  merit,  and  a  magnificent  gold  mounted  sword.  Congress 
voted  him  special  thanks,  and  had  a  gold  medal  struck  in  his  honor. 

In  1786,  Congress  appointed  him  agent  to  Denmark  and  Sweden  to 
obtain  indemnity  for  his  prizes  delivered  from  their  ports  to  the  enemy. 
The  next  year  he  entered  the  service  of  Catharine  of  Russia  as  rear- 
admiral.  In  an  action  against  the  Turks,  in  June,  1788,  he  so  distin- 
guished himself  as  to  be  made  vice-admiral,  and  a  knight  of  St.  Ann. 
In  1789  he  retired  to  France. 

The  last  few  years  of  this  distinguished  naval  commander  were 
spent  in  Europe,  but  he  still  considered  himself  an  American  citizen. 
He  died  in  Paris,  on  the  18th  of  July,  1792.  The  French  National 
Assembly  decreed  him  a  public  funeral  and  mourning. 

"  To  attribute  to  him  the  ordinary  properties  of  heroism,  would  be 
but  a  small  part  of  his  praise.  He  had  not  merely  the  nerve  to  execute 
the  most  daring  exploits,  but  the  genius  to  conceive  and  plan  the 
grandest  schemes,  whether  of  adventure  for  himself,  or  of  benefit  to 
his  country.  .  .  .  Those  who  knew  him  best  bear  testimony  to  the 
liberality  of  his  disposition,  the  uprightness  of  his  purpose,  and  the 
purity  of  his  honor." 


THOMAS    DE  WITT. 


The  Rev.  Dr.  Thomas  De  Witt  came  of  an  old  Dutch  family  that  set- 
tled in  Ulster  County,  New  York,  at  least  five  generations  before  his 
birth.  He  was  born  at  Kingston,  in  that  county,  on  the  13th  of  Sep- 
tember, 1791.  lie  received  his  early  education  at  the  Kingston 
Academy,  graduated  from  Union  College  in  1808,  and  at  the  Theo- 
logical Seminary  of  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church  at  New  Brunswick, 
New  Jersey,  in  1812.  He  was  immediately  licensed  to  preach  by  the 
New  Brunswick  Classis,  and  installed  as  pastor  of  the  Dutch  Reformed 
Church  at  Hopewell,  Dutchess  County,  New  York,  in  November  of 
the  same  year. 

Dr.  De  Witt  remained  at  Hopewell  for  fifteen  years,  and  through- 
out that  period  retained  and  perfected  the  respect  and  love  which  he 
had  won  at  the  outset,  not  only  from  his  parishioners,  but  from  all  the 
people  of  the  village.  In  1826  he  married  Miss  Westerman,  of  New 
York  City.  In  1827  he  accepted  a  call  to  that  city  from  the  Collegiate 
Dutch  Reformed  Church,  and  was  installed  as  one  of  its  ministers. 
Dr.  Chambers,  also  one  of  the  pastors  of  that  church,  gives  the  following 
information  regarding  it :  "  This,"  he  says,  "  the  mother  church  of 
the  denomination  in  this  country,  is  the  oldest  ecclesiastical  organiza- 
tion in  New  York,  having  been  founded  previous  to  a.d.  1640.  For 
more  than  a  century  and  a  half  this  was  the  only  Dutch  church  in  the 
city,  and,  as  the  population  increased,  it  multiplied  its  pastors  and 
houses  of  worship.  Subsequently,  when  independent  churches  were 
organized,  each  under  the  charge  of  a  single  person,  this  one,  because 
of  its  plurality  of  congregations  and  ministers,  became  popularly 
known  as  the  Collegiate  Church,  although  this  title  does  not  appear 
upon  its  record,  and  has  no  official  authority."  The  first  ministers, 
who  all  came  from  Holland,  preached  in  the  Dutch  language.  In  1764 
the  Rev.  Archibald  Laidlie  was  installed,  with  the  express  view  of 


THOMAS    DE  WITT. 


meeting  the  wants  of  those  who  required  the  service  to  be  in  English. 
The  last  sermon  in  Dutch  was  preached  in  1803. 

Dr.  De  Witt  was  constant  in  his  ministry  at  this  church  for  forty- 
seven  years.  Success  attended  him  as  a  preacher  throughout  his 
career.  He  is  said  to  have  been  brilliant  in  his  earlier  years,  and  as  he 
grew  old  he  acquired  a  strong,  refined  manner  that  always  mirrored 
thought.  His  earnestness  when  in  the  pulpit  was  remarkable ;  his 
strong,  manly  thoughts  were  expressed  in  lucid  language,  easy  of  com- 
prehension to  his  most  humble  listener.  He  was  some  sixty  years  in 
the  ministry,  and  though  not  in  active  service  at  the  time  of  his  death 
and  for  a  short  time  previous,  he  was  in  full  possession  of  all  his  facul- 
ties. This  patriarchal  clergyman  died  at  his  residence  in  New  York 
City,  on  the  18th  of  May,  1874. 

In  personal  appearance  Dr.  De  Witt  was  a  man  of  venerable, 
striking  presence  ;  his  figure  well  formed  and  stately ;  his  counte- 
nance one  of  those  that  bespeak  the  individual  as  truly  and  as 
clearly  as  the  record  of  daily  deeds.  His  mouth  was  rather  large, 
and,  being  habitually  compressed,  gave  his  face,  as  a  whole,  a  stern  as 
well  as  decided  look.  The  eyes,  however,  were  soft  and  kindly,  and  at 
the  same  time  searching  and  admonitory.  His  brow  was  deep  and 
wide,  and  had  that  rotundity  noticeable  in  those  of  superior  mental 
endowments. 

His  personal  qualities  were  those  of  a  Christian  gentleman,  and  his 
intellectual  accomplishments  were  both  varied  and  comprehensive. 
His  scholarship  was  extraordinary.  With  the  classics  he  was  unusually 
familiar,  and  he  had  an  acquaintance  with  the  modern  languages.  In 
addition  to  these,  he  was  a  student  of  modern  science.  For  several 
years  he  was  the  President  of  the  New  York  Historical  Society,  and 
for  many  more  its  Vice-President.  He  took  a  great  interest  in  the 
history  of  New  York  State,  as  well  as  that  of  the  nation,  and  read  a 
number  of  essays  before  the  Historical  Society.  He  was  also  interested 
in  the  American  Bible  and  Tract  Societies,  and  was  a  member  of  the 
Colonization  Society.  In  these  several  enterprises  he  alwa)7s  found  sub- 
jects to  labor  upon  in  the  intervals  of  release  from  regular  church 
duty.  "  He  officiated  at  the  last  service  in  the  Middle  Dutch  Church 
(afterwards  the  New  York  Post-Office)  in  Nassau  street,  at  the  con- 
clusion of  which  he  pronounced  the  benediction  in  Holland  Dutch  as 
it  was  spoken  two  hundred  years  previously." 


CHARLES    SPR AGUE  . 


The  poet  whose  name  heads  this  sketch,  fills  an  honorahle  place 
among  the  poets  which  America  has  produced.  He  was  born  in  Boston, 
on  the  26th  of  October,  1791.  His  father,  Samuel  Sprague,  was  a 
patriot  of  the  Revolutionary  times,  and  was  one  of  the  famous  Boston 
Tea  Party.  His  mother,  a  lady  highly  spoken  of,  was  said  to  have 
influenced  her  son  in  the  development  of  his  talents. 

The  family  was  a  large  one,  and  diaries  received  his  rather  limited 
education  at  Franklin  School  in  Boston.  One  of  his  teachers  was 
Chief- Justice  Shaw,  of  Massachusetts.  When  about  ten  years  of  age, 
by  an  unfortunate  accident  he  lost  the  sight  of  his  left  eye.  Leaving 
school  at  an  early  age,  he  entered  a  mercantile  house  engaged  in  the 
importation  of  dry  goods,  and  soon  acquired  a  practical  knowledge  of 
the  trade.  In  1816,  he  formed  a  partnership  with  his  employers, 
Messrs.  Thayer  &  Hunt,  which  was  continued  until  1820,  when  he 
became  a  teller  in  the  State  Bank.  On  the  establishment  of  the  Globe 
Bank,  in  1825,  he  was  elected  cashier.  This  position  he  held  for  a 
period  of  forty  years,  discharging  all  his  duties  in  a  faultless  manner. 
He  married  in  1814. 

Mr.  Sprague's  literary  life  began  when  he  was  very  young.  lie 
received  six  times  the  prize  for  the  best  poem  for  the  American  stage. 
The  first  of  his  productions  which  attracted  much  attention  were  three 
prologues,  the  first  of  which  was  written  for  the  Park  Theatre  in  New 
York,  in  1821.  "  The  ode  recited  in  the  Boston  Theatre,  at  a  pageant 
in  honor  of  Shakespeare,  in  1823,  is  one  of  the  most  vigorous  and  beau- 
tiful lyrics  in  the  English  language.  The  first  poet  of  the  world,  the 
greatness  of  his  genius,  the  vast  variety  of  his  scenes  and  characters, 
formed  a  subject  well  fitted  for  the  flowing  and  stately  measure 
chosen  by  our  author,  and  the  universal  acquaintance  with  the  writings 
of  the  immortal  dramatist  enables  every  one  to  judge  of  the  merits  of 
his  composition.  Though  to  some  extent  but  a  reproduction  of  the 
creations  of  Shakespeare  it  is  such  a  reproduction  as  none  but  a  man 
of  genius  could  effect." 


CHAELES  SPRAGUE. 


One  of  Mr.  Sprague's  greatest  pleasures,  and  one  that  was  of  much 
benefit  to  him  as  a  poet,  was  the  study,  in  his  leisure  moments,  of  the 
works  of  the  greatest  authors,  particularly  those  of  the  masters  of 
English  poetry.  As  Vice-President  of  the  Boston  Debating  Society  he 
gave  evidence  of  his  poetic  taste.  His  sentiment  "  to  the  memory  of 
the  immortal  Byron  "  had  a  world-wide  reputation.  Upon  the  occasion 
of  the  triumphal  entry  of  Lafayette  into  Boston,  in  the  month  of  August, 
1824,  he  wrote,  on  the  impulse  of  the  moment,  an  inscription  for  an  arch. 
It  was  so  appropriate  that  when  Mayor  Quincy  pointed  it  out,  and  the 
French  patriot  read  it,  tears  came  to  his  eyes. 

Mr.  Sprague  took  an  active  interest  in  the  civic  affairs  of  his  native 
city,  and  his  zeal  in  promoting  its  good  government  continued  through- 
out his  life.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Common  Council  in  1823-24, 
and  also  in  1827;  and  on  the  4th  of  July,  1828,  delivered  the  city 
oration.  At  the  commencement  of  Harvard  College  in  1829,  he 
delivered  before  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  Society,  the  metrical  essay  on 
"  Curiosity."  This,  his  chief  and  longest  poem,  is  most  ingenious,  and 
gave  him  in  England  the  title  of  the  "  American  Pope."  The  subject 
selected  was  a  most  happy  one,  and  in  the  poem  occur  some  of  the 
tinest  passages  in  his  writings.  His  poem  on  "Art,"  an  ode  written  for 
the  Sixth  Triennial  Festival  of  the  Massachusetts  Charitable  Mechanic 
Association,  in  1824,  drew  from  John  Quincy  Adams  the  highly  com- 
plimentary remark  that,  "  In  forty  lines  was  comprised  an  encyclope 
dia  of  description." 

In  1830,  Mr.  Sprague  delivered  an  ode  on  the  centennial  celebra- 
tion of  the  settlement  of  Boston,  containing  many  spirited  passages. 
He  also  wrote  a  number  of  poems,  chiefly  on  occasional  topics,  giv- 
ing evidence  of  great  skill  in  the  use  of  language.  They  are  written 
in  good  taste,  and  are  pervaded  by  a  spirit  of  good  sense  which  has 
gained  them  their  place  among  the  choicest  gems  of  American  poetry. 
His  prose  compositions  are  not  as  numerous,  nor  quite  as  carefully  fin- 
ished as  his  poems.  Of  these,  one  of  the  principal  was  an  oration,  pro- 
nounced at  Boston  on  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  Declaration  of 
Independence.  His  works  have  been  collected,  and  have  passed 
through  three  editions. 

Mr.  Sprague  died  in  his  home  at  Boston  on  the  21st  of  January, 
1875,  in  the  eighty-fourth  year  of  his  age.  He  was  a  man  of  strong 
domestic  and  social  affections,  and  spent  an  active,  useful,  but  rather 
a  quiet  life. 


MARTIN   VAN  BUREN. 


The  ancestors  of  our  eighth  President  were  of  Dutch  origin,  and 
were  among  the  earliest  emigrants  from  Holland  to  the  banks  of  the 
Hudson.  Here,  in  the  ancient  town  of  Kinderhook,  lived  Abraham 
Van  Buren,  the  father  of  the  President.  A  farmer  in  moderate  cir 
cuinstances,  and  also  a  tavern-keeper,  he  was  at  the  same  time  a  man 
of  intelligence,  of  strong  common  sense,  and  a  very  decided  Democrat. 
Martin  Van  Buren  was  born  in  the  town  where  the  family  had  always 
resided,  on  the  5th  of  December,  1782.  He  inherited  his  father's 
political  principles,  and  pacific  disposition — was  ever  ready  to  greet  his 
most  bitter  opponent  with  open  hand  and  friendly  smile.  The  first 
seven  Presidents  were  descended  from  emigrants  from  the  British 
Isles.  Martin  Van  Buren  belonged  to  another  race,  and,  as  he  said  of 
himself,  "  unlike  all  who  had  preceded  him,  he  was  born  after  the 
revolution  was  achieved." 

He  received  his  education  at  the  village  Academy,  and  when  but 
fourteen  years  of  age  began  the  study  of  law.  Not  having  had  the 
advantages  of  a  collegiate  education,  he  was  obliged  to  pursue  a  seven 
years  course,  at  the  end  of  which  time  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  and 
commenced  practice  in  his  native  town.  Mr.  Van  Buren  took  a  strong 
interest  in  politics,  and  in  1812  was  elected  to  a  seat  in  the  State 
Senate,  where  he  warmly  supported  the  administration  of  Mr.  Madi- 
son. In  1815  he  was  appointed  Attorney-General ;  the  next  year  he 
removed  to  Albany,  the  capital  of  the  State,  and  again  became  Senator, 
the  two  offices  bein^  held  together.  In  1818  he  started  a  new  organi- 
zation  of  the  Democratic  party  in  New  York,  which  controlled  the 
politics  of  that  State  for  over  twenty  years.  In  1821  he  was  elected  a 
member  of  the  United  States  Senate ;  was  re-elected  in  1827,  but 
resigned  the  office  on  being  chosen  Governor  of  New  York  in  1828. 
While  in  that  office  he  proposed  the  "  Safety  Fund  "  system  of  bank- 
ing, wh'ch  was  set  in  motio.i.     In  September,  1831,  he  went  tc 


MAETIN    VAN  BUREK. 


England  as  American  Minister  to  the  British  Court.  Three  months 
later  he  returned  home,  his  nomination  having  been  rejected  by  the 
Senate  on  the  ground  that  he  had  sided  with  England  against  the 
United  States  in  certain  matters,  and  had  carried  party  contests  and 
their  results  into  foreign  negotiations.  The  next  year  his  party  elected 
him  to  the  Vice-Presidency,  making  him  the  head  of  the  body  which  a 
few  months  before  had  condemned  him,  and  where  he  now  performed 
his  duties  with  "  dignity,  courtesy,  and  impartiality." 

In  183G,  Martin  Van  Buren  was  elected  President  of  the  United 
States.  The  country  was  then,  passing  through  a  peculiar  crisis.  The 
financial  storm  which  had  been  gathering  during  the  preceding  admin- 
istration, now  burst  with  terrible  fury.  Failures  were  e very-day  occur- 
rences— even  the  United  States  Government  could  not  pay  its  debts. 
Confidence  was  destro}red,  and  trade  stood  still.  Mr.  Van  Buren's  was 
a  difficult  position  to  fill  with  satisfaction  to  all,  and  he  was  the  subject  of 
much  partisan  censure.  But  that  he  pleased  his  own  party  is  proved 
from  the  fact  of  his  re-nomination,  in  1840,  against  Harrison,  by  whom 
he  was  defeated.  On  two  other  occasions  he  was  persuaded  by  his 
friends  to  become  a  candidate,  but  failed  of  election.  Retiring  to  pri- 
vate life,  he  lived  at  his  fine  mansion  in  Kinderhook,  until  his  death, 
which  took  place  on  the  24th  of  July,  1862,  at  the  age  of  eighty  years. 

This  description  was  written  by  his  friend,  Professor  Holland  : — 
"  In  personal  appearance,  Mr.  Van  Buren  is  about  the  middle  size  ;  his 
form  is  erect,  and  is  said  to  be  capable  of  great  endurance.  His  hair 
and  eyes  are  light,  his  features  animated  and  expressive,  especially  the 
eye,  which  is  indicative  of  quick  apprehension  and  close  observation  ; 
his  forehead  exhibits,  in  its  depth  and  expansion,  the  marks  of  great 
intellectual  power.  The  private  character  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  is  above 
all  censure  or  suspicion.  The  purity  of  his  motives,  his  integrity  of 
character,  and  the  steadiness  of  his  attachments,  have  alwajs  retained 
for  him  the  warm  affection  of  many,  even  among  his  political  oppo- 
nents. Uniting  in  his  character  firmness  and  forbearance,  habitual 
self-respect  and  a  delicate  regard  for  the  feelings  of  others,  neither 
the  perplexities  of  legal  practice,  the  cares  of  public  life,  nor  the 
annoyances  of  party  strife,  have  ever  been  able  to  disturb  the  serenity 
of  his  temper,  or  to  derange  for  a  moment  the  equanimity  of  his  deport- 
ment." 


DAVID 


DIXON 


PORTER. 


The  successful  issue  of  the  late  Civil  War  is  due  as  well  to  the 
exertions  of  the  courageous  naval  commanders  as  to  the  leaders  of  the 
land  forces.  Admiral  David  D.  Porter  is  the  son  of  the  famous  Com- 
modore David  Porter  of  the  "  Essex,"  and  was  born  in  Philadelphia, 
June,  1813.  In  1829,  he  entered  the  navy  as  midshipman,  and  served 
six  years  on  board  the  "  Constellation  "  and  the  "  United  States."  He 
passed  his  examination  in  1835,  and  served  six  years  on  the  Coast  Sur- 
vey, when  he  was  commissioned  a  lieutenant,  and  served  with  that 
rank  on  board  the  "  Congress  "  for  four  years.  After  a  brief  period 
of  service  at  the  Observatory  at  Washington,  he  was  placed  on  active 
duty  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  took  a  leading  part  in  the  naval  opera- 
tions of  the  Mexican  War.  In  1849,  he  took  command  of  one  of  the 
Pacific  Mail  Company's  steamers,  and  remained  four  years  in  that  ser- 
vice. 

In  1861,  he  was  placed  in  command  of  the  steam-sloop  u  Pow- 
hatan," a  vessel  of  about  twenty -five  hundred  tons,  and  armed  with 
eleven  guns,  in  which  he  joined  the  Gulf  Blockading  Squadron  off 
Pensacola.  After  doing  blockading  duty  for  some  time,  he  left  that 
ship  to  take  special  charge  of  the  mortar  expedition.  The  active  part 
he  took  in  the  reduction  of  the  forts  below  New  Orleans  will  make  his 
name  ever  memorable  in  connection  with  the  mortar  fleet,  or  bummers, 
as  the  sailors  term  them. 

In  his  report  of  April  25th,  1862,  he  says  :  "  We  commenced  the 
bombardment  of  Fort  Jackson  on  the  18th,  and  continued  it  without 
intermission  until  the  squadron  made  preparations  to  move.  In  an 
hour  and  ten  minutes  after  the  vessels  had  weighed  anchor,  they  had 
passed  the  forts  under  a  most  terrific  fire,  which  they  returned  with 
interest.  The  mortar  fleet  rained  down  sheets  on  Fort  Jackson,  to  try 
and  keep  the  men  from  the  guns,  while  the  steamers  of  the  mortar 
fleet  poured  in  shrapnell  upon  the  water  battery  commanding  the  ap- 


DAVID    DIXON  PORTER. 


proach  at  a  short  distance,  keeping  them  comparatively  quiet.  When 
the  last  vessel  of  ours  could  be  seen,  among  the  fire  and  smoke,  to  pass 
the  battery,  signal  was  made  to  the  mortars  to  cease  firing,  and  the 
flotilla  steamers  were  directed  to  retire  from  a  contest  that  would  soon 
become  unequal.  The  mortar  fleet  had  been  very  much  exposed  and 
under  a  heavy  fire  for  six  days,  during  which  time  they  kept  the  shells 
going  without  intermission.  One  of  them,  the  1  Maria  I.  Carlton,' 
was  sunk,  by  a  shot  passing  down  through  her  magazine  and  then 
through  her  bottom.  The  flotilla  lost  but  one  man  killed  and  six 
wounded.  The  bearing  of  the  officers  and  men  was  worthy  of  the 
highest  praise.  They  never  once  flagged,  during  a  period  of  six  days, 
never  had  an  accident  to  one  of  the  vessels  by  firing,  and  when  shell 
and  shot  were  flying  thick  above  them,  showed  not  the  least  desire  to 
have  the  vessels  moved  to  a  place  of  safety."  Again,  in  his  report  of 
the  30th,  he  says :  "  Fort  Jackson  is  a  perfect  wreck.  Everything  in  the 
shape  of  a  building  in  and  about  it  was  burned  up  by  the  mortar  shells, 
and  over  1,800  shells  fell  in  the  work  proper,  to  say  nothing  of  those 
which  burst  over  and  around  it.  I  devoted  but  little  attention  to  Fort 
St.  Philip,  knowing  that  when  Jackson  fell,  St.  Philip  would  follow." 

After  the  capture  of  New  Orleans,  he,  with  his  fleet,  went  up  the 
Mississippi,  and  was  engaged  in  several  affairs  on  that  river,  including 
the  siege  of  Vicksburg,  during  which  his  mortar  fleet  threw  shells  into 
the  city  and  works  forty  clays  without  intermission.  From  that  place 
he  was  ordered  to  the  James  River,  and  returned  in  the  "  Octorara." 
When  off  Charleston,  on  his  way  to  Fortress  Monroe,  he  fell  in  with 
and  captured  the  Anglo-Confederate  steamer,  "Tubal  Cain."  He  was 
soon  after  appointed  to  the  supreme  control  of  all  the  naval  forces  on 
the  Mississippi  River.  Made  rear-admiral  July  4th,  1863.  In  186-1, 
he  was  transferred  to  the  Atlantic  coast  to  command  the  naval  forces 
destined  to  operate  against  the  defences  of  Wilmington,  N.  C,  and  on 
January  15th,  1865,  the  fall  of  Fort  Fisher  was  hailed  by  the  country 
as  a  glorious  termination  of  his  arduous  war  services.  He  was  made 
vice-admiral  July  25th,  1S66,  and  appointed  superintendent  of  the 
Naval  Academy,  which  institution  is  still  reaping  the  benefit  of  his  able 
administration  during  the  years  from  1866  to  1870.  On  the  death  of 
Farragut  he  succeeded  that  illustrious  man  as  the  admiral  of  the  navy, 
his  appointment  bearing  date,  October,  1870. 

Admiral  Porter  is  a  man  of  wiry,  muscular  frame,  handsome 
features,  of  medium  height.  He  is  most  truly  "  a  worthy  son  of  a 
worthy  sire." 


GEORGE  PEABODY. 


ts  The  philanthropist  of  two  worlds,"  as  he  has  been  most  appropri- 
ately styled,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Danvers,  Massachusetts,  on  the  ISth 
of  February,  1795.  His  parents  were  unable  to  give  him  the  benefits  of 
a  thorough  education,  so  that  the  only  instruction  he  received  was  from 
the  common  schools  of  the  village.  Many  years  afterwards  he  wrote  : 
"  To  the  principles  there  inculcated  in  childhood  and  early  youth  I 
owe  much  of  the  foundations  of  such  success  as  Heaven  has  been 
pleased  to  grant  me  during  a  long  business  life."  His  business  life 
began  at  an  early  period.  At  the  age  of  eleven  he  left  school,  and  was 
placed  in  the  grocery  store  of  Mr.  Proctor.  After  four  years  spent  in 
this  situation,  George  Peabody,  in  1811,  entered  the  employment  of  his 
eldest  brother,  who  had  just  opened  a  dry-goods  store  at  Newburyport. 
Shortly  after,  a  great  fire  occurred  which  destroyed  much  property  in 
the  place,  including  his  brother's  store.  In  1812-13,  he  was  a  clerk  in 
his  uncle's  store  in  Georgetown,  D.  C.  After  spending  two  years 
with  his  uncle,  he  entered  into  partnership  with  Mr.  Elisha  Riggs,  a 
dry-goods  merchant  of  New  York.  They  soon  removed  to  Baltimore, 
and  in  1822  established  other  houses  in  Philadelphia  and  New  York. 
Upon  the  death  of  Mr.  Riggs,  Mr.  Peabody  became  senior  partner. 

In  1843  lie  retired  from  the  firm  of  Peabody,  Piggs  &  Co.,  and  go- 
ing to  London,  established  himself  at  the  head  of  a  banking  and  com- 
mercial house.  "  He  was  a  banker  only  in  the  American  sense  of  the 
term,  for  while,  like  the  Rothschilds  and  the  Barings,  he  loaned  money, 
changed  drafts,  bought  stocks  and  held  deposits  for  customers,  yet  he 
did  not  pay  out  money,  as  English  bankers  do,  and  therefore  was  not. 
deemed  a  banker  in  England.  '  The  magnitude  of  his  transactions  in 
that  capacity  perhaps  fell  short  of  one  or  two  great  houses  of  the  same 
class,  but  in  honor,  faith,  punctuality,  and  public  confidence,  the  firm 
of  George  Peabody  &  Co.,  of  Warnford  Court,  stood  second  to  none.'  " 

As  is  well  known  to  the  world  in  general,  Mi-.  Peabody's  bene- 


GEORGE  PEABODY. 

factions  were  numerous  and  princely.  Among  the  most  important  oi 
his  public  gifts  are  $60,000  to  the  State  of  Maryland,  for  negotiating 
the  loan  of  $8,000,000 ;  $1,500,000  to  the  Peabody  Institute,  Balti- 
more ;  $3,000,000  to  the  Southern  Education  Fund;  $1,500,000  to 
Yale  College,  and  the  same  amount  to  Harvard  ;  $140,000  to  Peabody 
Academy  and  $25,000  to  Phillips  Academy,  both  of  Massachusetts  ; 
to  Peabody  Institute,  &c,  at  Peabody,  Massachusetts,  $250,000 ; 
$25,000  to  Kenyon  College,  Ohio ;  $100,000  to  the  Memorial  Church 
at  Georgetown,  Mass. ;  $1 3,000,000  to  Homes  for  the  Poor  in  London. 
In  acknowledgment  of  this  generous  donation  the  Queen  presented 
Mr.  Peabody  with  her  portrait,  the  city  of  London  gave  him  its 
freedom  in  a  gold  box,  and  the  citizens  erected  a  fine  statue  to  his 
memory.  $10,000  to  libraries  in  Georgetown,  Mass.,  and  Thetford,  Vt. 
$10,000  to  Kane's  Arctic  Expedition;  $10,000  to  different  sanitary 
fairs;  $40,000  advanced  to  uphold  the  credit  of  States.  In  addition 
to  these  he  made  a  large  number  of  donations  for  various  public 
purposes,  ranging  in  sums  from  $250  to  $1 ,000,  and  extending  back 
as  far  as  1835.  The  property  left  by  him  at  the  time  of  his  death  was 
estimated  at  about  $4,000,000  in  value. 

Mr.  Peabody  died  at  his  residence  in  London,  on  the  4th  of 
November,  1869.  The  news  of  his  death  was  received  with  demon- 
strations of  sorrow  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic.  His  remains  were 
conveyed  to  his  native  country  in  a  war-vessel  of  the  United  Kingdom, 
and  were  laid  in  the  tomb  which  he  had  built  at  Dan  vers. 

Col.  J.  W.  Forney,  in  his  "  Letters  from  Europe,"  mentions  him  as 
follows :  "  The  good  man's  soul  seems  to  shine  out  of  every  feature  and 
lineament.  His  fine  head,  rivalling  the  best  of  the  old  aristocracy  and 
blending  the  ideals  of  benevolence  and  integrity,  his  tranquil  and 
pleasing  countenance,  and  his  silver  hair,  crown  a  lofty  form  of  un- 
usual dignity  and  grace.  The  work  of  this  one  plain  American  citizen 
silences  hypercriticism  and  challenges  gratitude.  He  has  completed  it 
without  leaving  an  excuse  for  ridicule  or  censure.  He  has  given  mil- 
lions to  deserving  charities,  without  pretence  or  partiality.  The  wealth 
gathered  by  more  than  a  generation  of  honest  enterprise  and  business 
sagacity  he  distributes  among  the  poor  of  the  two  nations  in  which  he 
accumulated  it,  first  liberally  providing  for  his  own  blood  and  kindred." 

"  The  name  of  Peabody  is  to  stand,  for  the  future,  synonymous  with 
Philanthropy.    This  single  word  shall  be  his  lasting  monument." 


DONALD    GRANT  MITCHELL. 


This  well-known  author  of  the  present  day  was  born  in  the  charm- 
ing little  city  of  Norwich,  Connecticut,  during  the  month  of  April, 
1822.  His  grandfather,  Stephen  M.  Mitchell,  was  a  member  of  the 
first  Continental  Congress  which  met  at  Philadelphia,  and  was  also 
for  many  years  Chief  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Connecticut. 
The  father  of  Mr.  D.  G.  Mitchell  was  the  pastor  of  the  Congrega- 
tional Church  in  Norwich. 

Young  Mr.  Mitchell,  having  passed  a  preparatory  course  at  board- 
ing-school entered  Yale  College,  from  which  he  graduated  in  1841,  then 
being  but  nineteen  years  of  age.  His  health  being  poor,  the  next  three 
years  were  spent  on  his  grandfather's  estate  in  the  country,  where  he 
became  much  interested  in  agriculture,  and  wrote  a  number  of  letters 
on  that  subject.  Crossing  the  ocean,  he  travelled  extensively  through 
Europe,  spending  the  half  of  one  winter  in  rambling  over  England  on 
foot.  While  abroad  he  was  a  correspondent  of  the  "  Albany  Cultiva- 
tor." Returning  home  after  an  absence  of  a  year  and  a  half,  he  com- 
menced the  study  of  law  in  New  York  city.  In  1847  he  published  a 
pleasant  reminiscence  of  his  tour  through  some  of  the  various  places 
of  interest  in  Central  Europe,  bearing  the  title  of  "  F resh  Gleanings  ; 
or,  A  New  Sheaf  from  the  Old  Fields  of  Continental  Europe ;  by  Ik 
Marvel."  The  confinement  in  a  city  office  affecting  his  health,  Mr. 
Mitchell  made  his  second  visit  to  Europe,  where  he  passed  several  of 
the  eventful  months  of  184S  in  Paris.  On  his  return  he  published 
"  The  Battle  Summer."  Soon  after  a  satirical  work,  "  The  Lorgnette," 
a  periodical,  appeared.  It  attracted  considerable  attention  in  fashion- 
able circles,  but  for  a  long  time  the  authorship  was  undiscovered,  it 
having  been  published  anonymously.  Mr.  Mitchell's  "  Reveries  of  a 
Bachelor,"  perhaps  his  most  popular  work,  appeared  during  the  pro- 
gress of  "  The  Lorgnette."  It  was  followed  the  next  year  by  "  Dreait. 
Life."    In  1853  Mr.  Mitchell  received  the  appointment  of  United 


DONALD   GRANT  MITCHELL. 


States  Consul  at  Venice.  Returning  home  two  years  later,  he  settled 
on  his  farm,  in  the  neighborhood  of  New  Haven,  where  for  several 
years  he  was  a  constant  contributor  to  Harper's  Magazine,  and  the 
Atlantic  Monthly,  and  also  occasionally  published  a  volume.  "  Fudge 
Doings,"  a  satire  on  American  fashionable  life,  appeared  in  1854,  and 
in  1863  "  My  Farm  of  Edgewood,"  and  the  next  year  a  sequel,  "  Wet 
Days  at  Edgewood,"  was  published.  The  titles  of  some  of  his  other 
works  are,  "  Seven  Stories,  with  Basement  and  Attic  ;  "  "  Dr.  Johns ; 
being  a  Narrative  of  Certain  Events  in  the  Life  of  an  Orthodox  Minister 
of  Connecticut ;"  a  novel  of  New  England  life,  first  published  in  the 
Atlantic  Monthly  and  afterwards  in  two  volumes ;  "  Rural  Studies, 
with  Notes  for  Country  Places ; "  in  the  latter  work  the  aim  of  the 
author  being  "  to  stimulate  those  who  live  in  the  country,  to  a  fuller  and 
wider  range  of  thinking  about  the  means  of  making  their  homes 
enjoyable." 

Mr.  Mitchell  has  delivered  several  lyceum  lectures  and  addresses 
on  agriculture.  The  following  quotation  is  taken  from  "  Letters  "  in  his 
"  Reveries  of  a  Bachelor :  "  "  Blessed  be  letters  !  they  are  the  moni- 
tors, they  are  also  the  comforters,  and  they  are  the  only  true  heart-talk- 
ers. Your  speech  and  then*  speeches  are  conventional ;  they  are 
moulded  by  circumstances  ;  they  are  suggested  by  the  observation, 
remark,  and  influence  of  the  parties  to  whom  the  speaking  is  addressed, 
or  by  whom  it  may  be  overheard. 

"Your  truest  thought  is  modified  half  through  its  utterance  by  a 
look,  a  sign,  a  smile,  or  a  sneer.  It  is  not  individual ;  it  is  not  integral ; 
it  is  social  and  mixed — half  of  you  and  half  of  others.  It  bends,  it 
sways,  it  multiplies,  it  retires,  and  it  advances,  as  the  talk  of  others 
presses,  relaxes,  or  quickens. 

"  But  it  is  not  so  with  letters : — there  you  are,  with  only  the  soulless 
pen,  and  the  snow-white,  virgin  paper.  Your  soul  is  measuring  itself 
by  itself,  and  saying  its  own  sayings ;  there  are  no  sneers  to  modify  its 
utterance — no  scowl  to  scare — nothing  is  present  but  you  and  your 
thought ;  utter  it  then  freely  ;  write  it  down— stamp  it — burn  it  in  the 
ink  !    There  it  is,  a  true  soul-print  1 " 


ARTHUR    ST.  CLAIR. 


Arthuk  St.  Clair  was  Lorn  in  Scotland  in  the  year  1734.  He  was 
of  a  distinguished  family ;  grandson  of  the  Earl  of  Itoslyn.  He 
studied  medicine  with  the  celebrated  John  Hunter  in  London,  but 
inheriting  a  large  sum  of  money  on  the  death  of  his  mother,  purchased 
an  ensigncy,  and  soon  after  came  in  Boscawen's  fleet  to  America  ; 
served  under  Amherst  at  the  taking  of  Louisburg,  and  was  distin- 
guished under  Wolfe  at  Quebec.  In  1760  he  married  at  Boston, 
Phebe,  daughter  of  Balthazar  Bayard  and  Mary  Bowdoin,  a  half-sister 
of  Governor  James  Bowdoin.  He  resigned  his  commission  in  1762, 
and  two  years  later  settled  in  the  Ligonier  Valley,  Pennsylvania, 
where  he  erected  mills,  also  a  fine  residence,  and,  to  use  his  own  lan- 
guage, "  held  six  offices  in  Pennsylvania,  all  of  them  lucrative ;  viz., 
clerk  of  the  Court  of  General  Quarter  Sessions,  prothonotary  of  the 
Court  of  Common  Pleas,  Judge  of  Probate,  register  of  wills,  recorder 
of  deeds,  and  surveyor  of  the  largest  county  in  the  province."  Hav- 
ing accompanied  the  commissioners  appointed  by  Congress,  in  1775, 
to  treat  with  the  Indians  at  Fort  Pitt,  and  acting  as  their  secretary,  he 
attracted  the  attention  of  that  body,  and,  without  any  solicitation  on  his 
part,  received  a  commission  as  colonel  of  militia.  In  January,  1776, 
St.  Clair  resigned  all  his  civil  offices,  repaired  to  Philadelphia  with 
orders  to  raise  a  regiment,  destined  to  serve  in  Canada,  the  well-known 
scene  of  former  services. 

Joining  Washington  in  November,  1776,  he  was  appointed  to 
organize  the  New  Jersey  Militia  ;  and  participated  actively  in  the  bat- 
tle at  Trenton,  and  the  subsequent  engagement  at  Princeton,  at  which 
he  rendered  valuable  service  by  protecting  the  fords  of  Assumpink ; 
events  which  turned  the  tide  of  success  in  favor  of  America.  On  the 
19th  of  February,  1777,  Congress  appointed  him  a  major-general.  In 
March  he  succeeded  Gates  in  command  at  Philadelphia,  and  soon  after 
was  ordered  by  General  Schuyler  to  take  command  at  Ticonderoga, 
which  on  the  night  of  the  4th  of  July,  he  was  obliged  to  evacuate,  his 


ARTHUR  ST.  CLAIR. 


force  being  wholly  inadequate  to  its  defence.  The  public  seemed  to 
consider  the  holding  of  Ticonderoga  a  point  of  honor,  and  were  loud  in 
expressions  of  vexation  and  disappointment  against  the  General  who 
directed  the  retreat,  as  well  as  against  the  commander  of  the  district, 
General  Schuyler.  A  short  time  dispelled  the  heavy  censure  be- 
stowed upon  the  General  for  this  measure,  the  propriety  of  which  was 
subsequently  fully  recognized  and  approved.  A  general  court  martial 
held  in  September,  1777,  acquitted  him  with  the  highest  honor,  and 
its  decision  was  confirmed  by  Congress,  in  December,  1778.  The  confi- 
dence of  Washington  appears  never  to  have  been  withdrawn  from 
him  ;  he  acted  as  volunteer-aide  at  Brandywine  ;  assisted  Sullivan  in 
preparing  his  expedition  against  the  Six  Nations ;  was  a  member  of 
the  court-martial  which  condemned  Major  Andre  ;  aided  in  suppress- 
ing the  mutiny  in  the  Pennsylvania  line  in  January,  1781  ;  was  active 
in  raising  and  forwarding  troops  to  the  south;  and  in  October  joined 
Washington,  and  participated  in  the  capture  of  Cornwall  is  at  York- 
town. 

After  the  peace,  General  St.  Clair  resided  in  Pennsylvania,  and  in 
1 786  was  a  member  of  Congress  from  that  State,  and  the  president  of 
that  body  in  1787.  Upon  the  erection  of  the  north-western  territory 
into  a  government,  he  was  appointed  governor,  February  1,  1778,  an 
office  which  he  accepted,  notwithstanding  the  reluctance  he  felt  to 
take  upon  himself  such  duties.  His  friends  saw  in  this  new  government 
the  means  of  fortune;  but  his  own  view  of  the  matter  "  that  it  was  the 
most  imprudent  act  of  his  life,"  seems  to  have  been  the  most  correct. 
To  accept  the  office  it  was  necessary  to  resign  the  office  of  auctioneer 
of  the  City  of  Philadelphia,  one  of  the  most  lucrative  in  the  State,  and 
at  the  end  of  about  fourteen  years  of  fatigue,  privation  and  danger, 
his  worldly  prospects  were  anything  but  bright.  In  January,  1799,  he 
fixed  the  seat  of  justice  of  the  Territory  at  Cincinnati,  giving  it  the 
name  in  honor  of  the  society  of  which  he  was  president  for  Pennsyl- 
vania in  1783-89.  Upon  the  erection  of  Ohio  into  a  State  in  1802,  he 
declined  being  a  candidate  for  governor.  Retiring  to  a  small  log 
house  on  the  summit  of  Chestnut  Pudge,  he  passed  the  remainder  of 
his  days  in  poverty,  vainly  endeavoring  to  effect  a  settlement  of  his 
claims  against  the  government.  The  Legislature  of  Pennsylvania,  in 
•  1813,  granted  him  an  annuity  of  $400,  and  a  short  time  before  his 
death  he  received  a  pension  from  the  Government  of  $60  per  month. 
He  died  at  Greensburg,  near  Philadelphia,  August  31st,  1818,  aged 
eighty-four. 


THOMAS 


JONATHAN 


JACKSON. 


In  the  late  Civil  War  perhaps  the  greatest  victory  on  the  part  of 
the  North  was  the  subduing  such  leaders  as  Lee  and  Jackson.  The 
last-named  gallant  Southern  general  was  born  in  Clarksburg,  Virginia, 
on  the  21st  of  January,  1824.  As  a  boy,  Jackson  was  noted  for  his 
gravity  and  sobriety  of  manner.  At  the  age  of  twenty-one  he  gradua- 
ted from  West  Point  witli  the  appointment  of  brevet  second  lieutenant 
of  artillery.  Among  his  classmates  were  Generals  McClellan,  Foster, 
Hill,  and  other  officers  of  renown  in  the  conflict  in  which  he  was  to 
take  part. 

In  the  spring  of  1847  he  became  actively  engaged  in  service  under 
General  Scott,  at  the  siege  of  Vera  Cruz.  After  the  battle  of  Cerro 
Gordo  he  was  transferred  to  Captain  Magruder's  light  field  battery. 
He  displayed  much  courage  at  Contreras,  Cherubusco,  and  Chapultepec, 
and  was  warmly  commended  by  his  superior  officers.  He  immediately 
received  the  brevet  rank  of  major  for  his  gallantry  in  these  actions. 
Entering  Mexico  with  the  victorious  army,  he  passed  several  months 
there  in  quiet  duty.  In  1848  he  returned  to  the  United  States, 
and  was  stationed  for  two  years  at  Fort  Hamilton,  whence  he  was 
transferred  to  Florida.  Soon  after,  receiving  a  call  to  occupy  the  posi- 
tion of  Professor  of  Natural  and  Experimental  Philosophy  and  Artillery 
Tactics  in  the  Military  Academy  of  Yirginia,  situated  at  Lexington,  in 
Rockbridge  County,  he  accepted  it,  and  resigned  his  rank  in  the  army. 
He  held  the  position  for  the  ensuing  ten  years.  During  that  period  he 
was  married  twice:  in  1853,  to  a  daughter  of  the  Peverend  Dr.  Jud- 
kin  ;  and  in  1857,  to  a  daughter  of  the  Reverend  Dr.  Morrison. 

Upon  the  breaking  out  of  the  Rebellion,  Jackson  enthusiastically  em- 
braced the  secession  movement,  and  entered  upon  the  career  which  made 
his  name  so  famous.  In  May,  1861,  he  was  appointed  to  the  command 
of  the  "  Army  of  Observation,"  and  distinguished  himself  in  the 
encounter  with  General  Patterson's  advance.    On  the  21st  of  July 


THOMAS    JONATHAN  JACKSON. 


occurred  the  momentous  battle  of  Bull  Run.  General  McDowell,  in 
command  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  moved  to  attack  the  main  body 
of  the  Confederates  at  that  place.  After  a  sharp  conflict  they  were 
driven  from  the  field,  but  were  rallied  by  Jackson  and  others,  on  a 
plateau  in  the  rear.  As  Confederate  General  Lee  rallied  his  men,  he 
shouted,  "  There's  Jackson  standing  like  a  stone  wall."  From  that  time 
the  name  he  had  received  in  a  baptism  of  fire  displaced  that  he  had 
received  in  a  baptism  of  water,  and  he  was  known  as  "  Stonewall 
Jackson."  As  the  Federal  troops  were  struggling  to  drive  them  from 
this  new  position,  seventeen  hundred  men,  under  Kirby  Smith,  rushed 
across  the  fields  from  Manassas  Station,  struck  the  Union  flank,  and 
poured  in  a  cross  fire  The  effect  was  irresistible.  At  first  this  defeat 
disheartened  the  Northern  people,  but  it  roused  them  to  a  sense  of  the 
real  character  of  the  war. 

After  being  engaged  in  several  battles,  General  Jackson,  by  his 
adroit  movements  in  the  Shenandoah  Valley,  succeeded  during  the 
month  of  June  in  occupying  the  attention  of  three  major-generals  and 
sixty  thousand  men,  and  saving  Richmond.  Being  sent  against  Har- 
per's Ferry,  the  middle  of  September,  he  quickly  carried  the  heights 
which  overlook  the  village,  forced  Colonel  Miles,  with  eleven  thousand 
men,  to  surrender,  and  then  hastened  back  in  time  to  join  Lee  at  Antie- 
tain  and  do  some  of  the  severest  fighting  at  that  battle.  He  received 
the  rank  of  lieutenant-general  for  his  services  at  the  battle  of  Fred- 
ericksburg, December  13th,  18G2.  By  his  flank  movement  at  Chancel- 
lorsville,  May  2d,  1863,  the  11th  Corps  of  Hooker's  army  was  routed 
and  compelled  to  fall  back.  In  the  evening,  while  riding  back  to 
camp  from  a  reconnoissance  at  the  front,  he  was  fired  upon  and  severely 
wounded  by  his  own  men,  who,  in  the  darkness,  mistook  his  escort  for 
Federal  cavalry.  The  wounds  proved  fatal,  and  on  the  10th  of  May, 
1863,  the  South  was  called  upon  to  mourn  the  death  of  Stonewall 
Jackson,  "whose  magical  name  was  worth  to  their  cause  more  than  an 
army." 

Jackson  undoubtedly  possessed  all  the  qualities  of  a  great  general. 
His  plans  were  'brilliantly  laid  and  as  brilliantly  executed.  He  was  a 
stern  disciplinarian,  but  was  remarkable  for  his  courtesy  to  the  private 
soldiers  of  his  command.  He  was  a  deacon  in  the  Presbyterian  Church, 
and  his  religious  fervor  caused  him  to  be  looked  upon  as  fanatical. 
In  manner  and  dress  he  was  simple  and  unostentatious. 


JOHN  ADAMS. 

To  no  one  President,  or  other  public  character,  is  America  more  in- 
debted for  those  institutions  which  constitute  its  power  and  glory,  than 
to  John  Adams,  the  second  President  of  the  United  States.  He  was 
born  in  the  present  town  of  Quincy  (then  Braintree),  Massachusetts, 
October  19  (old  style),  1735.  His  father,  an  industrious  farmer,  was 
anxious  to  give  his  son  a  collegiate  education,  so  John  entered  Harvard 
College  at  the  age  of  sixteen  and  graduated  at  the  age  of  twenty.  Im- 
mediately securing  a  position  in  one  of  the  public  schools  in  Worcester, 
he  studied  law.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1758,  and  commenced 
practice  in  his  native  town. 

The  bold  ground  Mr.  Adams  took  during  the  commotion  caused  by 
the  Stamp  Act,  was  the  beginning  of  a  distinguished  political  career. 
Prom  this  time  forward  he  devoted  his  time  and  energies  to  his  conn- 
try.  Pully  comprehending  the  approaching  crisis,  he  wrote,  "Sink  or 
swim,  live  or  die,  survive  or  perish  with  my  country  is  my  fixed,  unal- 
terable determination."  He  was  the  chief  legal  adviser  of  the  patriots, 
and  a  leader  of  them.  Elected  to  the  Provincial  Council,  and  subse- 
quently to  the  Provincial  Congress,  he  warmly  advocated  the  independ- 
ence of  the  Colonies.  Between  Thomas  Jefferson  and  himself  there 
existed  a  strong  friendship,  which  continued,  with  but  one  interruption, 
for  the  remainder  of  their  lives.  The  alienation  was  caused  by  their 
political  differences  of  opinion,  but  they  became  reconciled  upon  retir- 
ing to  private  life.  These  two  friends  were  appointed  to  draw  up  the 
Declaration  of  Independence.  Mr.  Jefferson,  who  was  a  ready  and 
able  writer,  b}'  the  request  of  Mr.  Adams,  prepared  that  most  impor- 
tant of  documents  ;  but  the  latter  secured  its  adoption  in  a  three- 
days'  debate.  Among  the  fifty- five  men  who  affixed  their  signatures  to 
that  declaration,  there  was  not  one  who  was  a  more  eloquent  defender 
of  it  than  John  Adams.  An  untiring  worker,  he  gained  the  reputation 
of  having  the  clearest  head  and  firmest  heart  in  Congress.    He  con,- 


JOHN  ADAMS. 

tinned  his  iabors  in  that  body  nntil  November,  1777,  when  he  was  ap- 
pointed to  take  the  place  of  Silas  Deane  at  the  French  Court.  Here  he 
was  associated  with  Benjamin  Franklin  and  Arthur  Lee.  His  inability 
to  speak  the  French  language  was  one  great  obstacle  to  his  success,  and 
he  did  not  become  popular  with  the  Parisians.  He  filially  returned 
home,  leaving  Dr.  Franklin,  who  was  a  favorite  and  greatly  admired, 
sole  ambassador. 

Taking  a  seat  in  the  State  Convention  for  forming  a  constitution, 
Mr.  Adams  took  a  leading  part  in  its  formation.  While  discharging 
these  duties,  he  was  appointed  by  Congress  a  minister  to  negotiate  a 
treaty  of  peace  and  commerce  with  Great  Britain.  In  the  summer  of 
1780  he  went  to  represent  the  United  States  in  Holland,  and  two  years 
later  negotiated  a  treaty  with  Great  Britain.  In  1785  he  went  as  Min- 
ister to  the  Court  of  St.  James.  He  was  recalled  in  1788,  and  after  his 
return  home  was  elected  Vice-President  of  the  United  States,  having 
received  the  next  highest  number  of  votes  in  the  first  Presidential  elec- 
tion. He  sustained  the  policy  of  "Washington,  and,  with  him,  was  re- 
elected for  another  term.  On  the  retirement  of  Washington,  Adams 
was  elected  President  by  a  majority  of  two  electoral  votes  over  Jeffer- 
son. In  his  position  as  President  he  lost  the  popularity  he  had  gained 
in  Congress.  His  enemies  ridiculed  him,  declared  his  egotism  to  be  in- 
ordinate, accused  him  of  being  a  bad  judge  of  men,  of  clinging  to  old 
unpopular  notions,  and  of  having  little  control  over  his  temper.  Mr. 
Adams  lived  to  see  their  blind  prejudice  give  place  to  a  juster  estimate 
of  his  great  worth  and  exalted  integrity.  The  most  intense  party  feel- 
ing prevailed  during  the  entire  administration.  Mr.  Jefferson,  in  re- 
buking a  clique  of  politicians  who  had  been  hurling  bitter  slanders  at 
the  President,  used  the  following  words  :  "  The  measures  of  the  gen- 
eral government  are  a  fair  subject  for  difference  of  opinion,  but  do  not 
found  your  opinions  on  the  notion  that  there  is  the  smallest  spice  of 
dishonesty,  moral  or  political,  in  the  character  of  John  Adams ;  for  I 
know  him  well,  and  1  repeat  that  a  man  more  perfectly  honest  never 
issued  from  the  hands  of  the  Creator."  At  the  close  of  the  term,  he 
was  nominated  a  candidate  for  re-election,  but  was  defeated  by  Jeffer- 
son. He  then  retired  to  private  life.  At  the  age  of  eighty-five  he  was 
chosen  a  delegate  to  the  Constitutional  Convention,  where  he  was  hon- 
ored  as  one  of  the  fathers  of  the  republic.  By  a  remarkable  coincidence 
he  and  Mr.  Jefferson  both  died  on  the  4th  of  July,  1826,  the  fiftieth 
anniversary  of  American  independence. 


FREDERICK  SWARTWOUT  COZZENS. 


Tins  American  author  was  born  in  the  city  of  New  York  on  the 
5th  of  March,  1818.  He  received  his  education  in  his  native  city,  and 
early  entered  mercantile  life.  He  became  a  leading  wine-merchant  in 
New  York,  and  for  some  time  edited,  in  connection  with  his  business,  a 
periodial  entitled  The  Wine  Press,  for  which  he  wrote  several  valu- 
able papers  on  the  culture  of  the  grape  and  the  production  of  wine. 
In  addition  to  much  important  information  on  this  topic,  it  was 
enlivened  by  many  clever  essays  and  sketches  in  the  range  of  practical 
aesthetics. 

Mr.  Cozzens  also  wrote  for  literary  periodicals.  In  1853  a  series  of 
papers  by  him,  consisting  of  sketches  in  prose  and  verse,  which  had 
appeared  in  the  Knickerbocker  Magazine,  were  collected  in  a  volume, 
and  published  under  the  name  of  "  Plasmatics,  by  Richard  Haywarde." 
It  was  tastefully  illustrated  from  designs  by  Elliott,  Darley,  Kensett, 
Hicks  and  Rossiter. 

He  subsequently  contributed  a  series  of  humorous  sketches  to 
Putnam's  Monthly,  under  the  title  of  "The  Sparrowgrass  Papers." 
This  was  considered  his  best  work,  and  appeared  in  book-form  in  1856. 

While  in  Europe  in  1858,  he  attended  the  Copyright  Congress  of 
Brussels,  as  delegate  of  the  New  York  Publishers'  Association. 

A  collection  of  sprightly  essays  from  the  pages  of  The  Wine  Press 
was  issued  in  1S67,  as  "  Sayings  of  Dr.  Bushwhacker  and  Other  Learned 
Men."  He  was  the  author  of  "  Stone  House  on  the  Susquehanna;  "  and 
of  "  Acadia ;  or,  A  Sojourn  among  the  Blue-Noses,"  which  was  pub- 
lished in  1S58. 

Ten  years  later  he  wrote  his  last  work,  a  "  Memorial  of  Fitz-Greene 
Halleck,"  which  was  read  before,  and  printed  by,  the  New  York 
Historical  Society. 

Mr.  Cozzens  died  in  Brooklyn  on  the  23d  of  December,  1869,  in  the 
fifty-second  year  his  age. 


FEEDEHICK    SWARTWODT  OOZZENS. 


A  LEAF  FROM  CHILD-LIFE.  FROM  SPARROWGRASS  PAPERS. 

"We  have  sent  the  children  to  school.  Under  the  protecting  wing  of 
Mrs.  Sparrowgrass,  onr  two  eldest  boys  passed  in  safety  through  the 
narrow  channel  of  orthography,  and  were  fairly  launched  upon  the 
great  ocean  of  reading  before  a  teacher  was  thought  of.  But  when 
boys  get  into  definitions,  and  words  more  than  an  inch  long,  it  is  time 
to  put  them  out,  and  pay  their  bills  once  a  quarter.  Our  little  maid, 
five  years  old,  must  go  with  them  too.  The  boys  stipulated  that  she 
should  go,  although  she  had  never  gone  beyond  '  E '  in  the  alphabet 
before.  When  I  came  home  from  the  city  in  the  evening,  I  found 
them  with  their  new  carpet-satchels  all  ready  for  the  morning.  There 
was  quite  a '  hurrah  !'  when  I  came  in,  and  they  swung  their  book-knap- 
sacks over  each  little  shoulder  by  a  strap,  and  stepped  out  with  great 
pride,  when  I  said,  '  Well  done,  my  old  soldiers.'  Next  morning  we 
saw  the  old  soldiers  marching  up  the  garden- path  to  the  gate,  and  there 
the  little  procession  halted  ;  and  the  boys  waved  their  caps,  and  one 
dear  little  toad  kissed  her  mitten  at  us — and  then  away  they  went  with 
such  cheerful  faces.  Poor  old  soldiers !  what  a  long,  long  siege  you 
have  before  you ! 

"  Thank  Heaven  for  this  great  privilege,  that  our  little  ones  go  to 
school  in  the  country.  Not  in  the  narrow  streets  of  the  city  ;  not  over 
the  flinty  pavements  ;  not  amid  the  crush  of  crowds  and  the  din  of 
wheels,  but  out  in  the  sweet  woodlands  and  meadows;  out  in  the  open 
air,  and  under  the  blue  sky — cheered  on  by  the  birds  of  spring  and 
summer,  or  braced  by  the  stormy  winds  of  ruder  seasons.  Learning  a 
thousand  lessons  city  children  never  learn  ;  getting  nature  by  heart — 
and  treasuring  up  in  their  little  souls  the  beautiful  stories  written  in 
God's  great  picture-book. 

"  We  have  stirring  times  now  when  the  old  soldiers  come  home  from 
school  in  the  afternoon.  The  whole  household  is  put  under  martial 
law  until  the  old  soldiers  get  their  rations.  Bless  their  white  heads, 
how  hungry  they  are  !  Once  in  a  while  they  get  pudding,  by  way  of  a 
treat.  Then  what  chuckling  and  rubbing  of  little  fists,  and  cheers,  as 
the  three  white  heads  touch  each  other  over  the  pan.  I  think  an  artist 
could  make  a  charming  picture  of  that  group  of  urchins,  especially  if 
he  painted  them  in  their  school-knapsacks." 


FRANKLIN  PIERCE. 


General  Benjamin  Pierce,  the  father  of  the  fourteenth  President 
of  the  United  States,  was  an  independent  New  England  farmer,  and  a 
man  of  energetic  and  upright  character.  lie  was  a  soldier  in  the 
Revolutionary  War,  and  took  an  active  interest  in  the  politics  of  the 
dajT.  He  was  a  strong  Democrat,  and  at  different  times  occupied 
nearly  every  post  of  honor  his  neighbors  could  confer  upon  him. 

His  son,  Franklin  Pierce,  was  born  in  Hillsborough,  New  Hamp- 
shire, on  the  23d  of  November,  1804.  When  sixteen  years  of  age  he 
entered  Bowdoin  College  at  Brunswick,  Maine,  and  graduated  at  that 
institution  in  1824.  His  choice  was  a  professional  life,  and  he  accord- 
ingly commenced  the  study  of  law  in  the  office  of  Judge  Levi  Wood- 
bury ;  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1827,  and  first  practised  his  profes- 
sion in  Hillsborough.  His  early  associations  with  politicians  and  his 
natural  tastes  drew  him  into  political  life,  and  he  was  soon  elected  to 
represent  his  town  in  the  State  Legislature,  where  he  served  for  four 
years.  In  1833  he  was  elected  a  member  of  Congress,  where  he 
warmly  sympathized  with  his  party,  the  Democratic.  In  1834  he  was 
united  in  marriage  with  the  daughter  of  the  Reverend  Dr.  Appleton. 

In  1837,  when  lie  had  barely  reached  the  requisite  age,  he  was 
elected  to  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  taking  his  seat  just  as  Mar- 
tin Van  Bnren  commenced  his  administration.  He  there  found  the 
ablest  men  of  the  country,  among  them  Clay,  Webster,  Calhoun, 
Buchanan,  Benton,  and  Wright.  "  With  his  usual  tact  and  exquisite 
sense  of  propriety,  he  saw  it  was  not  the  time  for  him  to  step  forward 
prominently  on  this  highest  theatre  in  the  land.  He  beheld  these  great 
combatants  doing  battle  before  the  eyes  of  the  nation,  and  engrossing 
its  whole  regards.  There  was  hardly  an  avenue  to  reputation  save  what 
was  occupied  by  one  or  another  of  those  gigantic  figures." 

In  183S,  Mr.  Pierce  removed  to  Concord,  where  his  devotion  to  his 
duties  at  the  bar  soon  gave  him  a  high  rank  as  an  able  lawyer.  Dur- 
ing Tyler's  administration  he  resigned  his  seat  in  Congress.    Upon  the 


FRANKLIN  PIERCE. 


aujes^.on  of  Polk  to  the  Presidency,  he  appointed  Mr.  Pierce  attorney- 
gene'-al  of  the  United  States.  This  office  he  felt  obliged  to  refuse ; 
and  about  the  same  time  he  also  declined  the  nomination  for  governor 
by  the  Democratic  Party.  When  the  Mexican  War  broke  out  he 
enlisted  as  a  volunteer,  but  quickly  rose  to  the  office  of  brigadier- 
general.  He  distinguished  himself  under  General  Scott,  and  command- 
ed a  large  reinforcement  for  his  army.  He  was  severely  injured  by 
the  falling  of  his  horse  upon  him  just  before  the  battle  of  Cherubusco. 
On  his  return  at  the  close  of  the  war  General  Pierce  was  received  at 
Concord  with  great  enthusiasm.  In  recognition  of  his  services  he  was 
presented  with  a  sword  by  the  Legislature  of  New  Hampshire.  In  the 
winter  of  1850-1,  he  presided  over  the  New  Hampshire  Constitutional 
Convention.  The  National  Democratic  Convention  which  met  in  June. 
1S52,  nominated  General  Pierce  as  their  candidate  for  the  Presidency. 
In  the  ensuing  fall  campaign  he  was  elected  by  a  large  majority  of 
electoral  votes  over  General  Winfield  Scott,  the  Whig  candidate.  He 
was  inaugurated  on  the  4th  of  March,  1S53,  and  during  his  administra- 
tion he  conferred  the  title  of  lieutenant-general  upon  his  old  military 
commander  and  unsuccessful  competitor. 

The  administration  was  not  a  very  eventful  one.  One  of  the  most 
important  home  incidents  of  the  time  was  the  erection  of  the  Crystal 
Palace  at  New  York.  This  undertaking,  which  was  brilliantly  carried 
out,  was  inaugurated  by  President  Pierce  in  July,  1853.  In  1351 
Commodore  Perry's  expedition  to  Japan  excited  great  attention.  He 
negotiated  a  treaty  securing  great  commercial  advantages  to  the  United 
States  over  any  other  country.  President  Pierce  always  sided  with  the 
South  on  the  question  of  slavery,  and  in  a  message  to  Congress  in 
1856,  he  justified  the  principles  of  the  Kansas  and  Nebraska  Act. 
This  bill  was  a  virtual  repudiation  of  the  Missouri  Compromise,  and 
excited  the  most  intense  feeling.  It  had  become  a  law,  however,  in 
1S54.  This  carried  the  struggle  from  Congress  to  Kansas,  where  a 
bitter  contest,  known  as  the  "  Border  Warfare,"  arose  between  the  pro- 
slavery  and  anti-slavery  advocates.  These  affairs  were  still  in  a  critical 
condition  at  the  close  of  his  four  years'  term  of  office.  James  Buchan- 
an, the  Democratic  candidate,  succeeded  him  to  the  Presidency. 

Soon  after  the  close  of  his  administration  Mr.  Pierce  visited  Ma- 
deira and  made  a  protracted  tour  in  Europe.  On  his  return  to  America 
he  again  took  up  his  residence  in  his  old  home  at  Concord,  where  he 
died  October  8,  1S69.  He  was  one  of  the  most  genial  and  social  of 
men,  and  one  of  the  kindest  of  neighbors  and  the  best  of  friends. 


COM. CHARLES  WILKES.  U.  S.N. 


CHARLES  WILKES. 


The  family  and  connections  of  Hear- Admiral  Charles  Wilkes  were  of 
high  standing  in  the  cit}T  of  New  York,  where  that  distinguished  naval 
officer  was  born  in  1801.  Through  the  influence  of  his  father,  who 
had  served  in  the  navy,  he  was  admitted  to  the  naval  school  and  was 
sent  to  the  ship  of  instruction,  then  stationed  in  the  Mediterranean. 
He  was  made  a  Midshipman  on  the  1st  of  January,  1818,  and  was 
appointed  to  the  Guerriere,  forty-fonr.  He  next  joined  the  Franklin, 
seventy-four,  and  remained  in  her  an  entire  cruise. 

Between  the  years  1821  and  1826  he  passed  through  the  several 
grades  to  that  of  Lieutenant,  and  was  engaged  in  special  service  in 
charge  of  charts  and  instruments  in  1830.  His  high  professional  at- 
tainments and  his  skill  as  an  astronomer  gained  him  great  credit,  and 
he  was  charged  with  the  making  of  several  surveys  of  the  coast,  which 
he  successfully  executed.  The  most  famous  of  his  early  services  was 
the  exploration  of  the  South  Seas,  the  Pacific  Archipelago,  and  the 
Indian  Ocean,  by  which  he  gained  a  name  for  daring  and  skill  which 
is  second  to  that  of  no  other  navigator.  The  discovery  of  a  southern 
continent,  along  the  shores  of  which  he  sailed  for  several  days,  added 
much  to  previous  geographical  knowledge,  which  was  exceedingly 
Hmi+ed,  of  high  southern  latitudes.  The  expedition  was  absent  four 
years,  and  on  its  return  Wilkes  published  the  results  of  his  observa- 
tions in  a  very  ably  written  work,  comprising  five  octavo  volumes,  en- 
titled, "  A  Narrative  of  the  United  States  Exploring  Expedition."'  For 
his  labors  he  was  rewarded  by  the  Geographical  Society  of  London, 
in  184S,  with  a  gold  medal  as  a  token  of  their  appreciation  of  his 
labors  in  the  cause  of  science.  The  next  year  he  published  a  valuable 
work,  entitled  "  Western  America,"  which  is  replete  with  statistical 
details  and  valuable  geographical  facts  and  maps  relating  to  California 
and  Oregon.  His  work  on  "  Meteorology  "  is  regarded  as  one  of  the 
most  valuable  treatises  on  the  subject.    In  1850  he  published  in  New 


CHARLES  WILKES. 


York  his  "  Theory  of  Winds,"  and  was  engaged  upon  other  works  in 
connection  with  the  Expeditionary  Bureau  when  the  late  civil  war 
broke  out. 

Captain  Wilkes — he  had  attained  the  rank  in  1855 — at  once  applied 
for  active  service,  and  was  appointed  to  the  command  of  the  war- 
steamer  San  Jacinto,  and  ordered  to  the  West  Indies  for  the  purpose 
of  looking  after  the  confederate  steamer  Sumter.  On  his  return  he 
learned  at  Cienfuegos  that  the  Theodora  had  run  the  blockade  at 
Charleston,  and  arrived  at  Havana  with  the  Confederate  Commis- 
sioners, Mason  and  Slidel,  and  their  secretaries,  Eustis  and  McFarland, 
all  of  whom  were  to  take  passage  to  England  in  the  British  mail  steamer 
Trent.  He  at  once  determined  to  capture  them,  and  therefore  lay  in 
wait  for  the  steamer  in  the  Old  Bahama  Channel.  About  noon  on  the 
8th  day  of  November,  1S61,  the  Trent  hove  in  sight.  Stopping  her  by 
firing  a  shot  across  her  bows,  Captain  Wilkes  sent  Lieutenant  D.  M. 
Fairfax  to  board  her  with  two  armed  boats.  After  some  slight  difficulty, 
the  Confederate  Commissioners  and  their  secretaries  were  put  into  the 
boat,  and  brought  on  board  the  San  Jacinto  by  Lieutenant  Fairfax. 
Captain  Wilkes  arrived  in  New  York  harbor  on  the  18th,  and  immedi- 
ately went  from  there  to  Boston  harbor,  where  his  prisoners  were  con- 
fined in  Fort  Warren.  England  claimed  this  as  a  violation  of  the  neu- 
trality laws,  and  demanded  the  release  of  the  envoys.  Sooner  than 
fight  Great  Britain  in  this  period  of  our  country's  peril,  England's  claim 
was  complied  with,  and  the  captives  of  Fort  Warren  delivered  to  the 
British  authorities  on  the  1st  of  January,  1862. 

After  the  Trent  affair,  Wilkes  remained  quiet  until  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac  had  nearly  reached  Richmond  by  the  way  of  the  James 
River,  when  he  was  ordered  to  the  command  of  the  James  River 
flotilla.  On  the  17th  of  July,  the  President  appointed,  and  the 
Senate  confirmed  the  appointment,  of  Captain  Wilkes  to  the  rank  of 
Commodore.  He  afterward  commanded  a  squadron  in  the  West 
Indies,  capturing  many  blockade-runners.  On  the  25th  of  July,  1866, 
he  was  commissioned  Rear- Admiral  on  the  retired  list. 

The  health  of  Rear- Admiral  Wilkes  had  been  failing  for  some  time 
before  his  death,  which  occurred  in  Washington,  D.  C,  on  the  morning 
of  the  8th  of  February,  1877. 


CARDINAL  Mc  CLO  SKET". 


JOHN  McCLOSKEY. 


Cardinal  McCloskey,  an  illustrious  leader  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church  in  the  United  States,  is  described  as  "  above  the  medium  height, 
sparely  made,  and  erect.  His  head  is  of  an  intellectual  cast,  and  his  coun- 
tenance, where  increasing  years  are  beginning  to  leave  their  unmistaka- 
ble lines,  is  strongly  expressive  of  amiability  and  benevolence.  The  fea- 
tures are  finely  moulded  and  uniform.  About  the  mouth  there  is  always 
an  expression  of  the  truest  kindness  and  gentleness,  and  the  eyes  are  soft 
and  sympathetic,  while  full  of  intellectuality.  The  brow  is  broad,  over 
which  the  hair  is  parted,  and  carefully  combed  on  either  side.  In  any 
gathering  of  men  he  would  be  selected  as  a  person  distinguished  for 
gifts  of  mind,  and  great  goodness  of  heart.  In  his  manners  he  is  dig- 
nified, courteous,  and  kindly.  A  simple,  easy  dignity,  natural  to  the 
man,  as  well  as  taught  in  the  prominent  stations  which  he  has  so  long 
occupied,  does  not  prevent  a  gentlemanly  and  friendly  demeanor  to- 
wards all  who  have  intercourse  with  him.  He  is  a  ripe  scholar,  and  a 
bold  and  devoted  churchman." 

Cardinal  McCloskey  was  born  in  Brooklyn,  Long  Island,  on  the  20th 
of  March,  1810.  Left  fatherless  at  the  age  of  ten,  his  mother  gave  him 
a  liberal  education,  and  he  prepared  for  the  priesthood.  lie  graduated 
from  Mount  St  Mary's,  Emmetsburg,  Maryland,  in  the  year  1827,  and 
pursued  his  first  course  of  theology  at  the  same  place.  About  1830, 
the  degree  of  A.M.  was  conferred  upon  him. 

In  January,  1831,  Cardinal  McCloskey,  then  a  young  man  scarcely 
twenty-four  years  of  age,  was  ordained  priest  by  Bishop  Dubois.  The 
ordination  took  place  at  St.  Patrick's  Cathedral,  New  York  City,  where 
he  celebrated  his  first  mass.  In  the  following  November,  he  sailed  for 
Europe,  and  going  to  Rome,  passed  two  years  in  the  schools  of  the  Ro- 
man College.  On  his  return  to  New  York  he  was  placed  in  charge  of 
St.  Joseph's  Church,  where  he  remained  for  seven  years,  except  the 
niiu;  months  he  occupied  the  position  of  President  of  St.  John's  College, 


JOHN    Mc  CLOSKET. 


Fordliam,  New  York,  then  just  going  into  operation.  He  was  conse- 
crated Bishop  of  Axiere  by  Bishop  Hughes,  on  the  10th  of  March, 
1844,  and  became  coadjutor  of  the  officiating  prelate. 

In  1847,  when  the  Diocese  of  Albany  was  established,  he  was  placed 
in  charge.  In  July  of  the  following  year,  he  laid  the  corner-stone  of 
the  large  edifice  known  as  the  Cathedral  of  the  Immaculate  Conception, 
which  was  completed  in  the  fall  of  1853.  In  1851,  the  Academy  of  St. 
Joseph,  in  Troy,  under  the  care  of  the  Christian  Brothers,  was  opened  ; 
and  a  hospital  was  established  by  the  Sisters  of  Charity.  In  1852,  a 
Female  Seminary  was  founded  in  Albany,  by  a  colony  of  Sisters  of  the 
Sacred  Heart  ;  and  in  1855,  an  Academy  for  boys  was  opened  at  Utica. 
Bishop  McCloskey  labored  unceasingly  in  the  Diocese  of  Albany  for 
more  than  seventeen  years. 

After  the  death  of  Archbishop  Hughes,  Bishop  McCloskey  was 
selected  by  the  Pope  to  become  his  successor.  His  installation  as  Arch- 
bishop of  the  Archdiocese  of  New  York  took  place  before  a  vast  audi- 
ence at  St.  Patrick's  Cathedral,  on  Sunday,  the  21st  of  August,  1864:. 
His  appointment  was  dated  May,  1804.  After  his  elevation  to  the  See 
of  New  York,  he  gave  special  attention  and  devoted  much  of  his  pri- 
vate means  to  the  completion  of  the  new  St.  Patrick's  Cathedral,  the 
corner-stone  of  which  had  been  laid  with  imposing  ceremonies  in  1858. 
This  cathedral,  a  noble  marble  edifice  in  the  Gothic  style,  is  situated 
on  Fifth  Avenue,  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  Central  Park,  and  is 
now  (1878)  fast  approaching  completion.  In  point  of  magnificence 
this  structure  vies  with  the  most  famous  cathedrals  of  Europe,  and  has 
no  equal  in  the  United  States.  Having  been  built  by  voluntary  con- 
tributions from  all  the  churches  of  the  Archdiocese,  it  is  essentially  a 
cathedral  church,  and  as  such  will  perpetually  remain — as  its  founder 
designed  it  should  remain — a  free  church. 

In  the  Consistory,  held  at  the  Vatican,  on  the  15th  of  March,  1875, 
Archbishop  McCloskey  was  raised  to  the  dignity  of  Cardinal.  The 
ceremony  of  imposing  the  berretta  took  place  at  St.  Patrick's  Cathedral, 
New  York  City,  on  the  27th  of  April,  1875.  The  occasion  drew  to- 
gether a  greater  number  of  high  dignitaries  of  the  Catholic  Church 
than  had  ever  before  assembled  in  America.  Shortly  after  being  raised 
to  the  Cardinalate  he  visited  Rome  to  receive  formally  the  Cardinal's 
hat  from  the  Sovereign  Pontiff,  according  to  the  usages  of  the  Church. 

Cardinal  McCloskey  has  made  several  visits  to  Rome  in  connection 
with  his  labors.  The  occasion  of  his  last  visit  being  a  summons  to  at- 
tend the  Conclave  convened  to  elect  a  successor  to  Pius  IX. 


"If  with  my  small  strength.  I  can  Bo  anything  worthy  of  such  a  cause  I  am  determined. 
Hereafter  I  may  feel  more  a  man  if  I  shall  have  assisted  in  putting  down  this  -vile  Rebellion" 

Last  Letter  03  tus2&ffi£r 


AIDE  TO  CAPTWD.  PORTER-US  GUHBOAT  ESSEX- FT.  HENRY  FEB.  5  1862. 


SAMUEL  BYRON  BRITTAN,  Jr. 


This  brave,  sincere,  and  high-minded  youth  was  born  in  P>ridgepo:t, 
Connecticut,  on  the  17th  of  June,  1S45.  lie  was  of  a  prepossessirg 
person  and  manners,  and  was  alike  admired  and  beloved.  His  sym- 
metrical and  muscular  proportions,  and  his  manly  deportment,  not  less 
than  his  courage  and  intelligence,  presented  all  the  characteristics  of  an 
early  and  vigorous  manhood. 

On  the  fall  of  Sumter,  young  Br ittan,  though  less  than  sixteen  years 
of  age,  manifested  an  intense  desire  to  enlist  as  a  private  soldier  in  the 
Union  army,  insisting  that  he  could  better  go  than  those  who  had  fam- 
ily responsibilities;  but  his  father  was  unwilling, owing  to  his  son's  ex- 
treme youth,  and  the  latter  yielded  to  parental  advice.  Subsequently, 
Captain  "William  D.  Porter,  of  the  "  Essex,1'  offered  him  the  situation 
of  aide  and  private  secretary,  and,  with  the  consent  of  his  parents,  it 
was  accepted.  On  the  24th  of  October,  1861,  Flag-Officer  Foote  com- 
missioned him  a  master's  mate  in  the  western  gunboat  squadron  ;  and 
on  Tuesday,  the  12th  of  November,  the  young  hero  bade  an  affectionate 
adieu  to  his  parents,  his  sisters,  and  his  brothers,  and  left  his  home  at 
Irvington — alas!  never  to  return. 

On  the  6th  of  February,  1862,  Flag-Officer  Foote  attacked  Fort 
Henry,  and  then  was  fought  the  death-fight  of  our  brave  "  boy-hero." 
Twenty  minutes  before  the  surrender  of  the  fort,  standing  forward  on 
tiie  gun-deck,  Captain  Porter  and  his  aide  were  watching  the  terrific 
effect  of  their  firing  on  the  fortifications.  At  this  moment,  a  forty-two- 
pound  shot  from  the  enemy's  works,  entering  directly  over  the  forward 
port  gun,  struck  the  young  midshipman,  taking  off  the  posterior  and 
coronal  portions  of  his  head,  and  passing  on  through  the  bulkhead,  de- 
signed to  protect  the  machinery,  entered  the  middle  boiler,  and,  releas- 
ing the  fiery  demon  within,  carried  deatli  to  several  others  on  board. 

The  young  officer  died  instantly,  while  thus  nobly  employed  at  the 
poet  of  duty,  and  with  his  face  to  the  foe. 


SAMUEL    BTEOlf    BRITTO,  JE. 


BOY  BEITTAN. 

BY  FORCEYTIIE  WILLSON. 

Boy  Brittan — only  a  lad — a  fair-haired  boy — sixteen, 

In  his  uniform  ! 
Into  the  storm — into  the  roaring  jaws  of  grim  Fort  Henry — 
Boldy  bears  the  Federal  flotilla — 

Into  the  battle-storm ! 
Boy  Brittan  is  Master's  mate  aboard  of  the  Essex, 
There  he  stands  buoyant  and  eager-eyed, 

By  the  brave  Captain's  side  ; 
Ready  to  do  and  dare — aye,  aye,  sir,  always  ready — 

In  his  country's  uniform  ! 
Boom  !  boom !  and  now  the  flag-boat  sweeps,  and  now  the  Essex, 

Into  the  battle-storm  1 

See,  boy  Brittan,  see,  Boy,  see ! 
They  strike  !    Hurrah  !  the  Fort  has  just  surrendered  ! 

Shout !  shout !  my  Boy,  my  warrior  Boy  ! 
And  wave  your  cap,  and  clap  your  hands  for  joy  ! 

Cheer  answer  cheer,  and  bear  the  cheer  about — 
Hurrah !  hurrah  !  for  the  fiery  Fort  is  ours ; 

And  "  Victory  !  "  "  Victory  !  "  "  Victory  !  " 
Is  the  shout. 

Shout — for  the  fiery  Fort,  and  the  field,  and  the  day,  are  ours — 
The  day  is  ours — thanks  to  the  brave  endeavor 
Of  heroes,  Boy,  like  thee  ! 

Victory !    Victory ! 
But  suddenly  wrecked  and  wrapped  in  seething  steam,  the  Essex 

Slowly  drifted  out  of  the  battle-storm ; 
Slowly,  slowly — down,  laden  with  the  dead  and  the  dying ; 
And  there,  at  the  Captain's  feet,  among  the  dead  and  the  dying, 
The  shot-marred  form  of  a  beautiful  Boy  is  lying — 

There  in  his  uniform  ! 

Laurels  and  tears  for  thee,  Boy, 

Laurels  and  tears  for  thee  ! 
Laurels  of  light  moist  with  the  precious  dew 

Of  the  inmost  heart  of  the  Nation's  loving  heart, 
And  blest  by  the  balmy  breath  of  the  Beautiful  and  the  T-ue  ; 
Moist— moist  with  the  luminous  breath  of  the  singing  spheres 

And  the  nation's  starry  tears  ! 
And  tremble-touched  by  the  pulse-like  gush  and  start 
Of  the  universal  music  of  the  heart, 

And  all  deep  sympathy. 
Laurels  and  tears  for  thee,  Boy, 

Laurels  and  tears  for  thee — 
Laurels  of  light,  and  tears  of  love,  for  evermore, 

For  thee. 


MORRISON  REMICK  WAITE. 


A  more  ancient  and  honorable  name  than  that  of  Waite  can  hardly 
be  found.  It  appears  it  was  originally  written  Wayte,  but  in  modern 
time*  was  changed  to  its  present  form.  The  settlement  of  the  family 
in  this  country  dates  back  more  than  two  centuries.  A  Thomas  Waite, 
born  in  Massachusetts,  in  1677,  settled  in  Lyme,  Connecticut,  when  a 
young  man.  One  of  his  descendants  was  the  late  Henry  Watson 
Waite,  Chief  Justice  of  Connecticut,  one  of  the  ablest  lawyers  of  the 
first  half  of  this  century.  After  serving  several  years  in  the  State 
Legislature,  and  holding  the  office  of  judge  of  the  Supreme  and  Supe- 
rior Courts,  he  was,  in  1854,  elected  to  a  seat  on  the  State  bench.  A 
well-known  jurist  says  of  him,  "  He  contributed  his  full  share  to  the 
character  of  a  court  whose  decisions  are  quoted  and  opinions  respected 
in  all  the  courts  of  the  United  States,  and  in  the  highest  courts  of  Eng- 
land.1' "lie  was  highly  cultivated  by  study,  chose  to  use  his  means 
for  educational  and  religious  purposes,  and  to  help  others,  rather  than 
in  a  pretentious  mode  of  living;  was  social  in  his  tastes,  and  enjoyed 
the  perfect  confidence  of  the  entire  community.  His  wife  was  of  the 
first  order  of  intellect,  and,  sympathizing  in  his  pursuits,  contributed 
largely  to  his  professional  successes.  A  fit  mother  was  she,  indeed,  for 
her  distinguished  son." 

This  son,  the  present  Chief  Justice,  Morrison  R.  Waite,  was  born  in 
Lyme,  on  the  29th  of  November,  1816.  Graduating  from  Yale  Col- 
lege, he  commenced  the  study  of  law  with  his  father,  who  had  also 
been  a  graduate  of  that  institution.  His  studies  were  completed  in  the 
office  of  the  lion.  Samuel  M.  Young,  of  Maumee  City,  Ohio.  With 
that  gentleman  he  subsequently  formed  a  partnership  that  was  success- 
fully continued  for  many  years.  Mr.  Waite's  wife  was  a  Miss  x\melia 
C.  Warner,  of  Lyme,  Connecticut.  They  removed  to  Toledo  about 
1850. 

Mr.  Waite's  reputation  as  an  able  lawyer  steadily  increasing,  he 


MORRISON    RE  MICK  WAITE. 


attained  an  immense  and  valuable  practice,  and  became  the  acknowl- 
edged leader  of  the  Ohio  bar.  "  He  was  one  whose  clearness  and 
dexterity  of  intellect  had  never  failed  to  bring  order  out  of  confusion 
in  the  most  complicated  law  cases  which  had  been  placed  in  his  hands. 
He  was,  moreover,  a  thorough  gentleman,  with  an  acute  sense  of  justice, 
strong  opinions,  sound  judgment,  and  a  spotless  private  record."  A 
seat  upon  the  bench  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Ohio  was  offered  him, 
but  he  declined.  He  had  also  been  frequently  urged  to  accept  a  nomi- 
nation to  Congress.  Though  taking  little  part  in  public  affairs,  he  did, 
in  a  few  instances,  serve  the  government,  discharging  his  duties  in  a 
most  fitting  and  acceptable  manner.  In  1871  he  was  one  of  the  counsel 
of  the  United  States  at  the  Tribunal  of  Arbitration  at  Geneva,  where  he 
won  special  praise  for  his  labor  in  the  commission  ;  in  1873  he  was 
elected  to  the  Constitutional  Convention  of  Ohio  by  the  unanimous 
vote  of  both  political  parties.  The  last  and  greatest  token  of  approval 
and  confidence  conferred  upon  him,  was  his  appointment  to  the  office 
of  Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States.  The  circumstances  attending 
it  were  the  most  flattering.  "  An  American  citizen  was  elevated  to  one 
of  the  most  dignified  and  important  judicial  offices  in  the  world  with- 
out a  dissenting  voice.  When  the  nomination  was  announced,  a  flood 
of  surprise  seemed  to  drown  captious  politicians  and  impatient  office- 
seekers.  The  choice  had,  singularly  enough,  fallen  outside  of  their 
ranks.  Ere  they  came  to  the  surface,  Congress  had  bowed  its  lofty 
head  to  merit,  the  newspaper  press  had  despairingly  confessed  its  ina- 
bility to  find  any  fault  with  the  nominee,  and  the  question  had  rung 
through  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land,  and  been  satisfactorily 
answered,  '  What  manner  of  man  is  he  who  is  to  be  henceforth  the 
custodian  of  the  liberties  of  forty  millions  of  people  ? ' "  Mr.  Waite 
took  the  oath  of  office,  March  4,  1874,  and  immediately  entered  upon 
the  duties  of  his  high  office. 

"  Chief  Justice  Waite  is  so  rounded  in  character  and  culture,  that 
there  are  few  salient  points  to  seize  for  purposes  of  description.  He  is 
of  medium  height,  broad  physique,  square  shoulders,  large  and  well 
poised  head,  hair  and  whiskers  slightly  flecked  with  gray,  complexion 
heavy,  eyes  dark  and  piercing,  and  mouth  indicative  of  decision.  His 
general  bearing  is  firm  and  self-possessed."  lie  has  the  logical  skill, 
the  judicial  temper,  and  the  just  mind  which  combine  to  make  the 
jurist.  In  addition  to  these  high  professional  qualities,  he  is  distin- 
guished for  a  large  humanity,  a  generous  nature,  and  a  loyalty  to  hia 
convictions,  which  make  him  beloved  and  respected  as  a  man. 


JOSEPH  HOOKER. 


Major-General  Joseph  IIooklr,  of  the  United  States  Army,  was 
born  in  Hadley,  Massachusetts,  in  the  year  1814.  He  graduated  with 
honors  from  the  West  Point  Military  Academy,  in  1837,  and  received 
the  commission  of  second-lieutenant  in  the  first  artillery.  In  1838,  pro- 
moted to  first-lieutenant;  and  from  1841  to  1845,  he  ranked  as  regi- 
mental adjutant.  When  the  war  with  Mexico  broke  out,  he  resigned 
his  adjutancy,  and  obtained  leave  of  absence  to  report  to  General  Tay- 
lor, then  on  the  Rio  Grande  ;  he  served  throughout  the  war  in  various 
capacities,  with  seven  different  generals,  commencing  as  lieutenant  and 
ending  as  lieutenant-colonel,  having  received  three  promotions.  In 
1848  he  vacated  his  regimental  commission  and  accepted  the  appoint- 
ment of  assistant  adjutant-general,  with  rank  of  captain,  which  position 
he  continued  to  fill  until  1853,  when  he  resigned  while  on  duty  in  Cali- 
fornia, and  became  a  farmer  in  Sonoma,  on  the  Bay  of  San  Francisco. 

At  the  first  reverberation  of  the  artillery  of  Fort  Sumter  upon  the 
shores  of  the  Pacific,  unwilling  to  believe  up  to  that  moment  that  our 
people  would  deliberately  embark  in  the  business  of  killing  one  another, 
he  took  the  first  steamer  for  the  East,  and,  on  his  arrival  there,  was 
appointed  by  the  President  a  brigadier-general  in  the  volunteer  service 
of  the  United  States  and  placed  in  command  of  a  brigade  in  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac,  which  soon  obtained  the  well-earned  sobriquet 
of  "  Hooker's  Fighting  Brigade."  He  was  subsequently  put  in  com- 
mand of  a  division  ;  and  from  July,  1861,  to  the  following  February, 
lie  was  in  Southern  Maryland  on  the  north  shore  of  the  Potomac.  He 
accompanied  M'Clellan  to  the  Peninsula,  and  took  a  prominent  part  in 
the  whole  campaign,  winning  fresh  laurels  in  every  engagement.  The 
battle  of  Williamsburg,  on  the  5th  of  May,  was  one  of  the  most  stubborn 
and  hard-fought  battles  of  the  war.  With  but  eight  thousand  men, 
General  Hooker  held  in  check  the  combined  divisions  of  Longstreet  and 
Hill,  numbering  twenty  thousand  men,  from  early  morning  until  near 
the  close  of  the  day,  when  Kearney  came  so  gallantly  to  his  assistance. 


JOSEPH  HOOKER. 


At  Fair  Oaks  lie  was  placed  in  front  of  the  enemy,  and  repeatedly 
drove  back  their  reconnoitering  forces,  not  once  being  driven  from  any 
position  he  took.  In  the  various  minor  contests  he  took  his  part,  and 
bravely  went  through  with  his  share  of  the  Seven  Days1  Fights.  At 
Nelson's  Farm,  and  at  Malvern  Hill,  his  fighting  division  never  fal- 
tered, but  stood  their  ground  nobly,  and  repulsed  the  enemy  whenever 
they  attempted  to  advance.  For  "gallant and  meritorious  conduct"  in 
this  disastrous  campaign,  General  Hooker  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of 
major-general  of  volunteers.  lie  bore  a  distinguished  part  in  the  second 
battle  of  Bull  Run,  where  he  commanded  the  forces  in  and  around 
Fairfax :  and  at  the  battle  of  Antietam  he  commanded  the  riffht  wins:. 
For  nearly  the  whole  day,  he  fought  the  Confederate  Army  single- 
handed,  meeting  the  shock  without  flinching,  and  driving  them  back 
full  a  mile,  when  he  was  shot  in  the  foot  by  a  rifle  ball,  and  compelled  to 
leave  the  held.    The  wound  disabled  him  from  duty  for  several  weeks. 

In  September,  1S62,  he  was  made  a  brigadier-general  in  the  regular 
army  of  the  United  States,  to  fill  the  vacancy  occasioned  by  the  fall  of 
the  veteran  general,  Mansfield.  It  was  a  just  and  well-earned  tribute. 
He  was  soon  after  assigned  the  centre  grand  division  of  the  army  of 
the  Potomac,  and  succeeded  General  Burnside,  in  the  chief  command, 
in  January,  1S63.  Crossing  the  Rappahannock,  April  27th,  he  was 
attacked  in  his  position  at  Chancellorsville,  May  2d  and  3d,  and  from 
the  untoward  procedure  of  some  of  his  corps  commanders  determined 
to  recross  the  river.  In  June,  having  discovered  that  he  stood  in  the 
way  to  the  accomplishment  of  the  destiny  of  the  army  of  the  Potomac, 
he  asked  to  be  relieved  from  that  command,  and  was  succeeded  by 
General  Meade.  Soon  after  he  was  ordered  to  the  West,  in  command 
of  the  11th  and  12th  Corps,  Army  of  the  Potomac,  and  fought  the 
battle  of  Lookout  Mountain,  which  was  the  first  assurance  General 
Grant  received  of  his  success  in  his  operations  around  Chattanooga. 
Afterwards,  General  Hooker  was  heard  to  exclaim  "  that  if  his  enemies 
had  knocked  him  out  of  one  great  battle,  he  had  been  helped  into  an- 
other, more  picturesque  and  ideal,  if  not  more  professional  and  scien- 
tific." He  continued  in  this  army  under  General  Sherman,  rendering 
services  fully  appreciated  and  admired  by  his  companions,  up  to  the 
very  walls  of  Atlanta.  He  was  afterwards  placed  in  command  of  the 
Department  of  the  Lakes,  and  on  the  conclusion  of  the  war  was  assign- 
ed to  the  command  of  the  Atlantic  division,  headquarters,  New  York 
City,  since  which  time  he  was  placed,  at  his  own  request,  on  the  army 
retired  list. 


MATTHEW 


VASSiR. 


In  the  coming  years,  when  colleges  and  institutions  for  the  higher 
education  of  women  shall  have  become  so  universal  that  the  fact  that 
these  privileges  were  once  denied  them  shall  be  all  but  forgotten,  the 
women  of  America  will  recall  with  grateful  emotions  the  name  of 
Matthew  Vassar.  To  him  they  are  indebted  for  the  establishment  of 
the  first  College  for  "Women.  Mr.  Vassar  never  had  cause  to  regret 
the  act.  That  the  end  for  which  the  institution  was  designed  and 
established  has  been  and  is  being  accomplished,  the  trial  of  more  than 
a  dozen  years  proves  conclusively. 

The  incidents  in  the  life  of  Mr.  Yassar,  and  the  causes  that  led  him 
to  establish  the  college,  are  full  of  interest.  He  was  born  in  Norfolk 
County,  England,  on  the  29th  of  April,  1792,  and  came  to  America 
with  his  parents  and  uncle  in  1797.  They  bought  a  farm  of  a  hundred 
and  fifty  acres  near  Poughkeepsie.  Here  they  planted  the  first  field 
of  barley  ever  seen  in  Duchess  County,  and  soon  had  some  fine  home- 
brewed ale  for  family  use  and  for  sale.  James  Vassar,  father  of  Mat- 
thew, became  a  brewer  in  Poughkeepsie.  Matthew  did  not  care  to 
assist  his  father  in  the  business,  and  fancying  still  less  an  arrangement 
which  was  made  to  apprentice  him  to  a  tanner,  he  started  out  alone  to 
find  employment.  He  was  fortunate  enough  to  secure  a  position  at 
once  in  a  country  store  in  a  little  settlement  two  miles  north  of  New- 
burgh.  He  remained  there  three  years,  and  then  entered  the  store  of 
another  merchant.  Returning  home  after  an  absence  of  four  years,  he 
entered  his  father's  establishment  as  bookkeeper  and  collector.  His 
father  had  been  most  successful  in  his  business,  but  shortly  after  his 
son's  return  he  met  with  heavy  losses  which  reduced  him  to  compara- 
tive poverty.  Matthew,  after  these  misfortunes,  began  brewing  ale 
himself,  at  first  making  but  three  barrels  at  a  time.  The  business  com- 
menced on  this  humble  scale  grew  in  the  course  of  years  into  a  large 
and  flourishing  one.  After  more  than  fifty  years'  experience,  during 
which  time  he  had  taken  several  partners  for  short  periods,  Mr.  Vassar, 


MATTHEW  VASSAR. 


now  the  possessor  of  a  large  fortune,  sold  his  interest  to  a  nephew  and 
retired  from  active  business. 

In  1845,  Mr.  Vassar  and  his  wife  sailed  for  Europe,  where  they 
spent  several  months  in  travelling.  While  in  London  the  frequent  visits 
made  to  Guy's  Hospital,  an  institution  founded  by  a  kinsman  of  his, 
suggested  a  plan  to  Mr.  Vassar's  ever  active  mind.  It  was  "to  devote 
a  large  portion  of  his  own  fortune,  in  his  life-time,  to  some  benevolent 
purpose."  Several  years  passed  after  his  return  from  Europe  before 
he  decided  what  it  should  be.  In  the  meantime  several  projects  were 
contemplated.  Finally,  at  the  suggestion  of  his  niece,  Lydia  Booth, 
who  was  principal  of  a  young  ladies'  seminary  in  Poughkeepsie,  he 
concluded  to  erect  and  endow  a  college  for  young  women.  Twenty- 
eight  persons  were  chosen  by  him  to  constitute  the  body  corporate  of 
the  college,  and  to  be  its  first  trustees.  After  a  careful  preparation  for 
the  great  enterprise,  the  act  for  the  incorporation  of  "  Vassar  Female 
College  "  was  passed  on  the  ISth  of  January,  1861.  The  title  was 
afterwards  changed  to  ''Vassar  College."  The  site  was  selected,  and  on 
June  4th,  of  the  same  year,  Mr.  Vassar  with  his  own  hands  broke 
ground  for  the  building.  In  less  than  four  years  from  that  date  it  was 
completed;  and  on  the  20th  of  September,  1805,  the  first  collegiate 
year  of  Vassar  College  was  begun. 

Mr.  Vassar  lived  to  see  his  great  work  accomplished.  Up  to  the 
last  moment  of  his  life  he  was  actively  engaged  in  its  behalf.  On 
June  26,  1868,  while  reading  his  annual  address  to  the  Board  of  Trus- 
tees at  their  stated  meeting,  the  MS.  fell  from  his  hands,  and  Mr.  Ben- 
son J.  Lossing  (one  of  the  trustees)  caught  his  lifeless  form  in  his 
arms. 

Vassar  College  is  situated  on  a  farm  of  about  two  hundred  acres, 
lying  two  miles  east  of  the  city  of  Poughkeepsie.  The  college  building 
is  nearly  five  hundred  feet  in  length.  Near  by  are  an  Astronomical 
Observatory  and  a  Gymnasium.  The  college  has  a  libraiy  of  10,000 
volumes,  also  a  valuable  Art  Gallery  and  Museum.  In  the  latter  there 
is  an  almost  complete  collection  of  North  American  birds,  and  a  very 
full  one  of  South  American  birds.  In  his  will,  Mr.  Vassar  left  $150,- 
000  to  be  divided  into  three  equal  parts  ;  the  income  of  $50,000  to  be 
used  as  an  "  auxiliary  fund  ; "  that  is,  to  assist  deserving  pupils  who 
may  have  become  pecuniarily  disabled,  to  complete  the  college  course ; 
the  income  of  $50,000  for  the  increase  of  the  library,  and  to  advance 
the  usefulness  of  the  philosophical  cabinets  and  apparatus ;  and  the  in- 
come of  $50,000  for  an  annual  course  of  lectures. 


f 


WASHINGTON  ALLSTON. 


Few  of  the  many  who  have  received  the  name  of  the  "  Father  of 
his  Country"  were  more  worthy  to  bear  it  than  Washington  Allston. 
Though  his  tastes  and  talents  were  entirely  unlike  those  of  George 
Washington,  he,  in  a  different  way,  succeeded  in  winning  a  name  and 
a  place  of  distinction  in  the  annals  of  the  great  men  of  America. 

This  gifted  painter  and  poet  was  a  descendant  of  a  well-known 
family  of  South  Carolina.  lie  was  born  in  Georgetown,  on  the  5th  of 
November,  1779.  From  considerations  of  health  he  was  sent  to  New- 
port, Rhode  Island,  where  he  spent  his  early  boyhood.  While  at  school 
in  this  place  he  formed  the  acquaintance  of  Edward  G.  Mai  bone,  the 
portrait  painter,  and  his  artistic  love  of  nature,  music,  poetry,  and 
painting  was  first  developed.  When  seventeen,  he  entered  Harvard 
College,  at  which  institution  his  education  was  completed.  Resolving 
to  make  his  favorite  occupation,  painting,  his  profession,  he  disposed 
of  his  property,  and  early  in  1801  sailed  for  London.  In  order  to 
cultivate  his  love  of  the  art,  he  at  once  became  a  student  at  the  Royal 
Academy,  then  under  the  presidency  of  his  distinguished  countryman, 
Benjamin  West.  At  the  end  of  a  three  years' course  he  visited  France 
and  Italy,  making  a  lengthy  sojourn  of  four  years  in  Rome.  While 
pursuing  his  study  there,  he  distinguished  himself  so  greatly  as  a  color- 
ist  that  he  gained  the  title  of  the  American  Titian.  During  his  eight 
years'  residence  abroad  he  familiarized  himself  with  the  works  of  the 
great  masters.  He  also  enjoyed  the  society  of  some  of  the  most  cele- 
brated poets  and  painters  of  England  and  the  Continent.  It  is  said 
that  no  private  American  ever  made  a  better  or  more  lasting  impres- 
sion abroad  than  Mr.  Allston  did.  In  1809  he  made  a  brief  visit  to  the 
land  of  his  birth,  and  was  united  in  marriage  to  a  sister  of  Dr.  Wil- 
liam Ellery  Channing,  the  distinguished  Unitarian  divine.  Shortly 
after,  he  returned  to  Europe,  took  up  his  abode  in  London,  remaining 
there  for  the  space  of  seven  years,  during  which  time  he  wrote  "  The 


WASHINGTON  ALLSTOK. 


Sylphs  of  the  Seasons  "  and  other  poems,  besides  producing  some  of 
his  best  pictures.  These  works  are  of  great  merit,  and  are  founded  for 
the  most  part  on  subjects  taken  from  sacred  history.  Two  of  these, 
u  The  Dead  Man  revived  by  touching  the  Bones  of  Elijah,"  and  "  The 
Angel  Uriel  in  the  Sun,"  obtained  for  the  artist  valuable  prizes  from 
the  British  Gallery.  All  of  his  works  met  with  a  ready  sale.  His 
wife  died  soon  after  they  reached  London,  and  Mr.  Allston,  not 
enjoying  good  health,  returned  to  America  in  1818.  Going  to  Boston, 
he  made  his  home  in  that  city-  a  number  of  years.  Among  the  many 
pictures  he  produced  while  there  are  "  Jeremiah  "  and  "  Saul  and  the 
Witch  of  Endor." 

In  1830  he  married  a  sister  of  his  friend  Mr.  Richard  II.  Dana, 
the  poet,  and  removed  to  Cambridge,  where  he  built  himself  a  house 
and  studio.  This  place  he  made  his  residence  for  the  remainder  of 
his  life.  He  now  devoted  some  of  his  time  to  his  pen,  and  the  ele- 
gance of  his  prose  has  been  surpassed  by  few.  He  prepared  a  series 
of  lectures  on  art,  and  published  a  romance,  "Monaldi,"  a  story  of 
Italian  life.  Mr.  Allston  died  at  his  house  in  Cambridge,  on  the  9th 
of  July,  1S43.  During  the  last  twenty-five  years  of  his  life  he  had 
occupied  himself  from  time  to  time  on  his  great  painting  of  "  Belshaz- 
zar's  Feast."  This  was  a  work  of  large  size,  and  he  intended  it  should 
be  his  masterpiece.  But  his  ill-health,  together  with  his  exacting  and 
exalted  taste,  prevented  a  i-apid  progress,  and  though  the  last  week  of 
his  life  was  spent  upon  it,  it  was  left  unfinished,  "  a  splendid  specimen 
of  his  genius."  "  Allston's  works  are  not  numerous,  considering  the 
extent  of  his  career,  but  bear  the  imprint  of  an  original  and  artistic 
mind.  Had  he  possessed  the  moral  courage  and  the  physical  ability  to 
embody  on  the  canvas  his  own  conceptions,  he  would  have  proved  one 
of  the  most  prolific  and  imaginative  artists  of  the  age.  No  American 
painter  has  yet  approached  him  in  the  delineation  of  sacred  history." 
Professor  Shedd  observed,  "  he  accomplished  so  little  because  he  thought 
so  much." 

Mr.  Allston's  conversational  powers  were  of  a  high  order,  and  he 
was  a  man  of  fine  literary  tastes.  His  associates  had  always  been  the 
best  and  wdsest  men  of  both  continents,  and  by  them  he  was  mourned 
no  less  as  a  man  of  fine  traits  of  character  than  as  a  gifted  painter. 


SABflQJtEO.  DOQjraTTORJffiTrtlDH.  D.1L.DD. 

3OVERN0R  01'  CONNECTICUT  AND  PRESIDENT  OF  CONGRESS. 


SAMUEL  HUNTINGTON. 


The  Huntingtons  were  among  the  early  settlers  of  Connecticut, 
Samuel  Huntington  was  born  at  Windham,  Connecticut,  on  the  2d  of 
July,  1732.  His  father,  Nathaniel  Huntington,  was  a  plain,  industrious 
farmer,  and  the  only  education  he  was  able  to  give  the  son  in  whom  we 
are  particularly  interested,  was  that  to  be  obtained  in  the  common 
schools  in  their  neighborhood.  Three  other  sons,  however,  were  gradu- 
ated at  Yale  College,  and  entered  the  ministry.  Samuel,  who  was 
naturally  very  studious,  and  the  possessor  of  an  active,  energetic  mind, 
availed  himself  of  every  opportunity  to  increase  his  store  of  knowledge. 
Though  steadily  engaged  in  farm  labor  nntil  he  reached  the  age  of 
twenty-two,  he  succeeded  in  acquiring  a  pretty  thorough  knowledge  of 
the  Latin  language.  His  clear  judgment  enabled  him  to  select  profi- 
table reading  matter,  and  his  close  observance  of  men  and  things  gave 
him  as  much  of  an  acquaintance  with  the  ways  of  the  world  as  many  a 
man  in  more  advantageous  circumstances  possessed.  Too  much  honor 
and  admiration  cannot  be  given  to  one  who,  like  him,  rising  from  a 
comparatively  humble  sphere  in  life,  overcomes,  by  his  own  exertions, 
obstacle  after  obstacle  standing  in  the  way  to  advancement  and  success, 
and  finally  becomes  one  of  the  most  useful  and  eminent  men  of  his 
time. 

Having  a  strong  desire  to  make  law  his  profession,  he  relinquished 
his  former  occupation,  and  commenced  the  study  of  it  at  home.  Bor- 
rowing books  of  Zedekiah  Elderkin,  of  the  Norwich  bar,  with  no  in- 
structor but  himself,  he  succeeded,  in  spite  of  many  difficulties,  in  mas- 
tering the  elementary  books.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  and  opened 
an  office  in  his  native  town,  where  he  obtained  a  good  practice.  Re- 
moving to  Norwich,  in  1760,  he  established  himself  as  a  lawyer,  and 
found  a  much  wider  field  for  his  talents.  Within  the  following  year 
or  two  he  married  Martha,  the  daughter  of  Reverend  Ebenezer  Devo- 
tion. 


SAMUEL  HUNTINGTON. 


In  1761  Mr.  Huntington  was  elected  to  the  General  Assembly  oi 
Connecticut,  and  the  next  year  he  was  appointed  State  Attorney.  He 
was  also  chosen  a  member  of  the  Council.  In  1774  he  received  the 
appointment  of  Associate  Judge  of  the  Superior  Court,  and  in  1776 
was  appointed  one  of  the  delegates  from  Connecticut  in  the  General 
Congress.  An  ardent,  sincere  patriot,  he  was  willing  and  glad  to  do  all 
in  his  power  to  aid  the  American  cause  in  the  great  struggle  then  being 
carried  on,  and  voted  for  and  signed  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 
He  continued  in  Congress  until  his  poor  health  forced  him  to  resign  the 
important  position  as  President  of  Congress,  to  which  office  he  had 
been  called  to  succeed  John  Jay  in  1779.  Two  years  later  his  resigna- 
tion took  place,  and  with  great  reluctance  his  services  were  dispensed 
with,  although  it  was  hoped  his  retirement  would  not  be  permanent. 
During  the  time  he  spent  in  Congress  he  continued  the  duties  of  the 
offices  he  held  in  the  Council  and  on  the  bench.  In  1783  he  again 
took  his  seat  in  Congress,  but,  at  the  expiration  of  that  session,  declined 
a  re-election.  Retiring  to  his  family,  he  now  hoped  to  be  able  to  enjoy 
the  quiet  and  repose  of  private  life.  This  he  was  not  permitted  to  do, 
for  soon  after  his  return  he  was  appointed  Chief  Justice  of  the  Supe- 
rior Court  of  his  State.  The  following  year  he  wras  elected  Lieutenant- 
Governor,  and  in  1786  he  became  Governor  of  Connecticut.  He  was 
still  holding  this  office  when  his  death  took  place  at  Norwich,  on  the 
6th  of  January,  1796.    He  was  then  in  his  sixty-fourth  year. 

Mr.  Huntington  is  described  as  a  man  of  middle  stature,  with  dark 
complexion  and  keen  eyes.  His  countenance  was  expressive  of  the 
many  good  qualities  which  distinguished  him  in  public  and  private  life. 
"  Governor  Huntington  lived  the  life  of  the  irreproachable  and  sincere 
Christian,  and  those  who  knew  him  most  intimately  loved  him  the  most 
affectionately.  He  was  a  thoughtful  man,  and  talked  but  little ;  the 
expression  of  his  mind  and  heart  was  put  forth  in  his  actions.  He 
seemed  to  have  a  natural  timidity,  or  modesty,  which  some  mistook  for 
the  reserve  of  haughtiness  ;  yet  with  those  with  whom  he  was  familiar, 
he  was  free  and  winning  in  his  manners.  Investigation  was  a  promi- 
nent characteristic  of  his  mind,  and  when  this  faculty  led  him  to  a  con- 
clusion it  was  difficult  to  turn  him  from  the  path  of  his  determination. 
Hence,  as  a  devoted  Christian  and  a  true  patriot,  he  never  swerved 
from  duty,  or  looked  back  after  he  had  placed  his  hand  to  the  work." 


JOHN   CABELL  BRECKINRIDGE. 


John  C.  Breckinridge,  an  American  politician  and  soldier,  and  a 
^ruiy  representative  man  of  his  time,  was  born  near  Lexington,  Ken- 
tucky, on  the  21st  of  January,  1821.  lie  was  a  nephew  of  the  distin- 
guished divines,  the.  Rev.  John  Brechin  ridge,  D.D.,  and  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Robert  J.  Breckinridge.  His  father,  Joseph  Cabell  Breckinridge,  who 
died  when  he  was  only  three  years  old,  was  Secretary  of  State  of  Ken- 
tucky, and  a  man  of  high  standing  in  public  affairs.  On  his  mother's 
side  he  was  descended  from  John  Witherspoon  and  Samuel  Stanhope 
Smith,  one  of  whom  was  a  signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence, 
and  both  presidents  of  Princeton  College.  Young  Breckinridge  gradu- 
ated from  Centre  College,  Kentucky  ;  enjoyed  the  benefit  of  a  few 
months  at  Princeton,  as  a  resident  graduate  ;  studied  law  at  Transylva- 
nia Institute;  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar, and  entered  immediately  on 
the  practice  of  his  profession. 

During  the  Mexican  War  Mr.  Breckinridge  rendered  creditable  ser- 
vice as  a  major  of  infantry.  Soon  after  his  icturn  he  was  elected  to  the 
Kentucky  Legislature.  In  1S51  he  was  chosen  to  Congress,  and  in  1853 
was  re-elected,  after  a  violent  and  protracted  contest.  His  career  in 
Congress  was  marked  by  a  devoted  attention  to  his  legislative  duties. 
It  wras  during  his  successive  terms  in  Congress  that  the  Kansas-Nebraska 
agitation,  caused  by  the  repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compromise,  took  place. 
Mr.  Breckinridge  took  an  active  part  in  the  discussion,  and  his  great 
speech  on  the  question  of  territorial  power  was  made  March  23d,  1854. 
It  is  remarkable  "for  its  clear  statement  of  the  legislation  of  Congress 
at  critical  periods  of  our  history,  and  its  powerful  analysis  of  the  mo- 
tives and  movements  of  parties." 

When  President  Pierce  came  into  office  he  tendered  to  Mr.  Breck- 
inridge the  Ministry  to  Spain,  but  family  matters  necessitated  his  de- 
clining the  honor.  He  was  a  delegate  to  the  Cincinnati  Convention  in 
June,  1856,  and  was  r  :minated  for  Vice-President  on  the  ticket  wi"tl< 


JOHN    CABELL    BEECKIIf  EID6E, 


Mr.  Buchanan  as  President.  He  was  elected  in  November,  1S56,  hav- 
ing received  one  hundred  and  seventy-three  electoral  votes.  As  presid- 
ing officer  of  the  United  States  Senate,  he  took  the  chair  of  that  body 
sarly  in  the  first  session  of  the  Thirty-fifth  Congress,  and,  with  some  in- 
termission caused  by  illness  in  his  family,  presided  during  the  stormy 
session  which  preceded  the  war. 

In  the  Presidential  contest  of  1860  there  were  four  tickets  in  the 
field — Mr.  Breckinridge  receiving  the  Democratic  nomination  for  Presi- 
dent, and  Joseph  Lane,  of  Oregon,  for  Vice-President.  He  received  the 
electoral  votes  of  all  the  Southern  States  except  Virginia,  Kentucky, 
Tennessee,  and  Missouri.  The  same  year,  however,  his  party  in  his  na- 
tive State  gave  proof  of  its  confidence  in  him  by  nominating  him  for 
the  United  States  Senate,  and  he  was  successfully  elected  to  succeed 
John  C.  Crittenden  from  the  4th  of  March,  1S61.  While  occupying  his 
seat  as  Senator  he  openly  defended  the  Southern  Confederacy,  and 
when  Kentucky,  the  State  he  represented,  annonnced  her  determination 
of  remaining  in  the  Union,  he  felt  called  upon  to  separate  himself  from 
the  interests  of  his  native  State,  and  from  those  of  the  Union  at  the 
same  time.  Accordingly  he  left  the  Senate,  went  South,  and  offered 
his  services  to  the  Confederate  Government.  They  being  accepted  he 
received  the  commission  of  Brigadier-General,  and  was  appointed  to 
take  command  of  a  brigade  of  Kentuckians.  He  soon  rose  to  the  rank 
of  Major-General.  During  the  first  year  of  the  war  he  was  repulsed  in 
an  attack  on  Baton  Rouge.  Near  the  end  of  1862  he  commanded  a  corps 
under  Bragg  at  Stone  River  (this  was  one  of  the  most  desperate  con- 
tests of  the  war),  and  participated  in  the  battle  of  Chickamauga  in 
September,  1863  ;  defeated  General  Sigel  at  Newmarket  in  May, 
1864;  took  part  in  Early's  advance  upon  Washington  in  July  of  that 
year,  and  shared  in  his  defeat  near  Winchester  in  September.  In  Jan- 
uary, 1865,  General  Breckinridge  was  made  Confederate  Secretary  of 
War,  a  post  which  the  character  of  his  mind  and  the  experience  of  his 
life  qualified  him  to  fill.  Shortly  after  his  appointment  the  surrender 
of  General  Lee  took  place,  and  with  it  the  downfall  of  the  cause  he  had 
espoused.  Upon  the  close  of  the  war  he  immediately  went  to  Europe, 
and,  after  spending  some  time  there  and  In  Canada,  he  returned  to  his 
home  in  Lexington,  Kentucky,  where  he  passed  the  remainder  of  his  life 
in  retirement.  Always  a  favorite  of  society,  he  was  admired  as  one  of 
the  handsomest  men  in  the  Confederacy.  Dignified  in  manner ;  perfect 
and  well-proportioned  in  form,  with  deep-set  eyes,  large  and  brilliant, 
while  the  lower  features  showed  the  clear-cut  marks  of  noble  blood. 


THOMAS    HART  BENTON. 


In  examining  the  records  of  the  lives  of  the  distinguished  states- 
men who  have  figured  upon  the  political  stage  in  this  country,  we  find, 
prominent,  among  the  most  eminent,  the  name  of  Thomas  Hart  Benton. 
"  Webster,  Calhoun,  Clay,  Benton,  and  Cass  were  to  the  United  States 
Senate  what  the  five  senses  are  to  the  human  system." 

Thomas  Benton  was  born  near  Hillsborough,  Orange  County,  North 
Carolina,  on  the  14th  of  March,  1782.  He  studied  for  some  time  at  a 
grammar  school,  and  afterwards  at  Chapel  Hill  College,  but  did  not 
however  complete  the  full  course,  owing  to  his  removal  to  Tennessee. 
He  studied  law  under  Mr.  St.  George  Tucker,  entered  the  United 
States  army  in  1810,  and  in  1811  commenced  the  practice  of  law  in 
Nashville,  Tennessee.  He  rose  rapidly  in  his  profession,  and  served  one 
term  in  the  legislature,  where  he  procured  the  passage  of  a  law  reform- 
ing the  judicial  system,  and  one  giving  slaves  the  benefit  of  a  jury  trial. 
About  this  time  he  became  intimate  with  Andrew  Jackson,  who  had 
been  raised  to  the  bench  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  State,  and  was 
Major-General  of  the  State  militia. 

Removing  to  St.  Louis,  he  established  the  "  Missouri  Enquirer," 
also  practising  law.  Upon  the  conclusion  of  the  struggle  for  the 
admission  of  Missouri  into  the  Union,  Mr.  Benton  took  his  seat  in  the 
United  States  Senate  as  one  of  the  first  representatives  of  the  new 
State.  He  retained  that  position,  by  constant  re-election,  for  a  period 
of  thirty  years,  during  which  time  he  took  a  leading  part  in  the  discus- 
sion of  the  great  questions  which  came  before  that  body.  By  the  aid  of 
his  energy,  iron  will,  and  self-reliance,  he  rose  to  be  one  of  the  most 
active  and  influential  members.  He  opposed  the  administration  of 
Adams,  but  strongly  supported  those  of  Jackson  and  Yan  Buren. 
Upon  the  United  States  Bank  question  he  made  several  elaborate 
speeches.  He  was  the  advocate  of  a  railroad  to  the  Pacific,  and  did 
much  to  open  up  and  protect  the  trade  with  New  Mexico,  to  establish 


THOMAS    HART  BENTON. 


military  stations  on  the  Missouri,  to  cultivate  and  retain  friendly 
relations  with  the  Indians,  and  promote  the  commerce  of  our  inland 
seas.  He  moved  and  successfully  carried  the  expunging  of  the  resolu- 
tion of  censure  upon  his  friend  President  Jackson.  He  supported  the 
Mexican  War,  opposed  the  Compromise  Measures  of  1850,  because  he 
thought  the  fugitive  slave  law  clause  defective  and  ill-judged.  He 
strongly  opposed  nullification,  and  in  1850  was  defeated  for  the  Senate 
by  the  ultra-slavery  men  of  his  party. 

Two  years  later,  Mr.  Benton  was  elected  to  the  House  of  Represent- 
atives, where  he  distinguished  himself  in  opposing  the  Kansas-Nebraska 
Bill  as  a  violation  of  the  Missouri  Compromise.  In  1854  he  failed  of 
re-election  as  a  member  of  Congress.  In  1856  he  became  candidate  for 
Governor  of  Missouri,  but  was  defeated  in  spite  of  his  exertions  in 
canvassing  the  State.  In  the  Presidential  election  of  the  same  year  he 
supported  Buchanan  in  opposition  to  his  own  son-in-law,  Fremont. 

After  his  retirement  from  active  public  service,  he  devoted  the  re- 
mainder of  his  life  to  literary  pursuits.  The  record  of  his  political 
experiences  he  published  in  a  work  entitled  "  Thirty  Years1  View  ;  or,  a 
History  of  the  Working  of  the  American  Government  for  Thirty  Years, 
from  1820  to  1850."  His  opportunities  as  an  actor  and  eye-witness 
gave  him  great  advantages  in  writing  it.  It  contained  his  best 
speeches,  trilmtes  to  the  public  men  with  whom  he  was  associated,  and 
warm  personal  notices  of  his  friends;  65,000  volumes  were  sold  as  soon 
as  published.  Win.  Cullen  Bryant  wrote  :  "  The  literary  execution  of 
this  work,  the  simplicity  of  its  style,  and  the  unexceptional  taste  which 
tempers  all  its  author's  allusions  to  his  contemporaries,  have  been  the 
subject  of  universal  admiration."  While  the  second  volume  was  in 
preparation,  his  manuscripts  and  books  were  destroyed  by  fire.  He  at 
once  wrote  to  bis  publishers,  stating  his  loss,  and  that  his  labor  would 
be  doubled,  but  that  he  would  "go  to  work  immediately  and  work 
incessantly."  After  its  completion  he  entered  upon  another  work,  the 
"  Abridgment  of  the  Debates  of  Congress,  from  1789  to  1850,"  con- 
sisting of  fifteen  volumes.  In  this  work,  even  at  the  advanced  age  of 
seventy -six,  his  daily  labors  were  almost  incredible  ;  it  was  finally  com- 
pleted down  to  the  conclusion  of  the  great  compromise  debate  of  1850 
— even  upon  his  very  death-bed  he  dictated  and  revised  the  final 
portions  in  whispers,  after  he  had  lost  the  ability  to  speak  aloud. 

Mr.  Benton  died  in  Washington,  on  the  10th  of  April,  1858.  In 
personal  appearance  he  was  short  and  stout,  with  a  magnificent  head, 
gray  eyes,  Roman  nose  and  a  face  beaming  with  intellect. 


JOHN  WAKEFIELD  FRANCIS. 


John  W.  Francis,  M.D.,  LL.D.,  one  of  the  most  distinguished 
American  physicians,  was  horn  in  New  York  City  on  the  17th  of 
November,  1789.  His  father  was  a  native  of  Nuremberg,  Germany, 
who  came  to  this  country  some  half  dozen  years  before  the  birth  of  his 
son  John.  That  son,  the  eldest,  after  receiving  the  usual  early  educa- 
tion attended  the  school  under  the  charge  of  the  Rev.  George  Strebeck, 
and  subsequently  pursued  his  classical  studies  with  the  Rev.  John  Con- 
roy.  In  1809  he  graduated  at  Columbia  College,  from  which,  in  1812, 
he  received  the  degree  of  Master  of  Arts.  While  he  was  still  an 
undergraduate  he  commenced  the  study  of  medicine  with  the  cele- 
brated Dr.  Hosack.  "  During  the  period  of  his  professional  studies 
for  four  collegiate  years,  he  never  absented  himself  from  a  single  lec- 
ture, nor  attended  one  without  making  notes  or  abstracts  on  the  subject 
taught  by  the  lecturer." 

In  1811  young  Francis  received  his  degree  of  M.D.  from  the  Col- 
lege of  Physicians  and  Surgeons.  lie  was  the  first  upon  whom  the 
degree  was  conferred  by  the  institution,  which  had  been  established 
four  years  previous.  After  a  few  months'  practice  Dr.  Hosack  offered 
him  a  co-partnership  in  business,  which  he  accepted.  The  connection 
continued  till  1820.  In  1813  Dr.  Francis  was  appointed  lecturer  on 
Medicine  and  Materia  Medica,  in  the  College  of  Physicians  and  Sur- 
geons and  Columbia  College,  the  medical  faculty  of  which  were  about 
that  time  united.  His  popularity  gained  him  the  position  of  President 
of  the  Medico-Chirurgical  Society,  as  successor  to  Dr.  Mitchill.  "  Anx- 
ious to  transplant  to  his  native  soil  whatever  was  valuable  in  the 
renowned  medical  schools  of  Europe,  he  left  home  for  a  tour  in  Scot- 
land, Ireland,  Holland,  and  France,  and  derived  profitable  themes  of 
meditation  and  practice  from  the  friendly  converse  of  the  celebrated 
Abernethy,  Gregory,  Jamieson,  Denon,  Gall,  Cuvier,  and  other  bene 
factors  of  the  science  and  erudition  of  their  race." 


JOHN    WAKEFIELD  FRANCIS. 


Dr.  Francis  returned  to  New  York,  bringing  with  him  the  founda 
tion  of  a  valuable  library.  Upon  his  arrival  he  was  at  once  appointed 
Professor  of  the  Institutes  of  Medicine  in  the  College  :  and  on  the 
death  of  Dr.  Stringham,  in  1817,  he  succeeded  him  in  the  department 
of  Medical  Jurisprudence.  In  1819  he  became  Professor  of  Obstetrics 
and  Medical  Jurisprudence,  which  appointment  he  held  until  1S26. 
About  that  time  he,  with  several  other  professors  of  the  College, 
founded  and  organized  Rutgers  Medical  College.  This  institution 
was  closed  after  being  carried  on  successfully  for  four  terms. 

"While  Dr.  Francis  held  these  professional  positions  and  filled  them 
with  industry  and  ability,  he  was  engaged  in  an  extensive  and  increas- 
ing practice.  In  addition  to  his  arduous  professional  duties,  he  was 
also  continually  engaged  in  literary  pursuits.  He  was  a  ready  and 
eloquent  writer  upon  whatever  subject  employed  his  pen.  He  was 
particularly  eminent  as  a  biographer,  especially  of  distinguished  men 
with  whom  he  was  acquainted  ;  and  no  one  man  ever  made  so  many 
and  excellent  contributions  to  the  treasury  of  American  biography  as 
he.  His  essays  and  discourses,  on  a  great  variety  of  topics,  occupy  a 
large  space  in  our  literature.  He  was  an  ardent  lover  and  patron  of 
art,  and  the  deserving  man  of  genius,  however  humble,  always  found 
in  him  a  benefactor  and  friend.  He  was  honored  and  beloved  by  all 
of  the  literary  men  and  artists  of  his  day ;  and  men  of  science  esteemed 
him  highly  for  his  genial  sympathy  in  their  labors." 

In  1S10  he  founded,  in  conjunction  with  Dr.  Ilosack,  the  American 
Medical  and  Philosophical  Register,  which  he  continued  through  four 
annual  volumes.  One  of  his  latest  and  most  attractive  works,  a  gather- 
ing of  the  personal  reminiscences  of  his  life,  "  Old  New  York,"  grew 
out  of  an  elaborate  address  before  the  New  York  Historical  Society,  of 
which  he  had  been  one  of  the  founders.  lie  was  also  greatly  interested 
in  the  New  York  Academy  of  Medicine,  the  American  Academy  of 
Design,  and  other  institutions.  He  was  a  member  of  many  Medical 
and  Philosophical  Associations  both  abroad  and  at  home.  In  1850  he 
received  the  degree  of  LL.D.  from  Trinity  College,  Connecticut ;  and 
in  1860,  from  Columbia  College,  New  York. 

Socially,  Dr.  Francis  was  a  general  favorite,  and  in  the  gatherings 
at  his  house  all  were  met  with  a  frank  hospitality.  Not  only  his  im- 
mediate friends  and  associates,  but  all  the  citizens  of  New  York  City, 
were  called  upon  to  mourn,  in  his  death,  which  took  place  on  the  8th  oi 
February,  1861,  the  loss  of  the  estimable  physician  and  kindly  philan- 
thropist. 


HORACE  GREELEY. 


Horace  Greeley,  founder  of  the  New  York  Tribune,  was  born  in 
Amherst,  New  Hampshire,  February  3,  1811.  He  was  a  delicate 
child,  and  unusually  precocious.  He  received  but  a  limited  common- 
school  education  although  he  commenced  his  school  life  when  he  was 
barely  three  years  old.  His  parents  having  removed  to  Vermont, 
young  Horace  Greeley  obtained  employment  in  Poultney  as  an  appren- 
tice in  the  office  of  the  Northern  Spectator,  where  he  soon  became  an 
expert  workman,  and  occasionally  assisted  in  editing  the  paper.  There 
was  plenty  of  hard  work  to  do  in  the  office,  yet  he  found  time  to  keep 
up  his  reading  and  studies  and  to  take  part  in  the  village  debating 
society,  where  he  was  noted  for  his  familiarity  with  political  statistics. 
Soon  after  he  was  apprenticed  his  father  and  family  went  to  Erie 
County,  Pennsylvania,  to  live,  and  he  made  them  two  visits  there, 
walking  a  large  part  of  the  way.  His  father  was  a  poor  man  who  had 
a  hard  struggle  to  obtain  a  living  from  his  farm.  The  Spectator  fail- 
ing in  1830,  on  August  17  of  the  following  year,  Horace  Greeley  found 
himself  in  New  York  City  with  but  ten  dollars  in  his  pocket.  Having 
no  friends  to  aid  him  he  spent  three  days  in  a  search  for  employment, 
and  finally  obtaining  work  as  a  journeyman  printer,  he  continued  thus 
employed  for  eighteen  months.  A  young  man  of  his  diligence,  ability, 
and  integrity  could  hardly  fail  to  rise  as  time  went  on.  He  was  suc- 
cessively editor  of  the  Morning  Post,  a  short-lived  penny  paper;  the 
New  Yorker,  which  met  with  marked  success  ;  the  Log-Cabin,  an 
extremely  popular  sheet,  advocating  the  election  of  President  Harri- 
son ;  and  lastly,  of  his  greatest  enterprise,  the  New  York  Tribune.  The 
first  number  of  that  independent  and  spirited  journal  appeared  on  Sat- 
urday, April  10,.  1S11.  He  will  be  remembered  also  as  an  eminent 
author,  as  well  as  journalist.  "  His  writings  have  many  characteristics 
in  common  with  those  of  the  elder  printer,  Franklin  ;  but  at  no  sacri- 
fice of  spirit  or  originality,  because  the  very  outbreathings  of  an  intense 
individuality."    In  1850,  " Hints  toward  Reforms,"  consisting  mainly 


HORACE  GREELEY. 


of  lectures  and  addresses,  appeared ;  it  was  followed  by  "  Glances  at 
Europe  ;  "  his  "  History  of  the  Struggle  for  Slavery  Extension  "  was 
published  in  1856 ;  in  1860,  "  Overland  Journey  from  New  York  to 
San  Francisco,"  a  series  of  letters  reprinted  from  the  Tribune ;  in 
1864-6  "  The  American  Conflict,"  in  two  volumes ;  in  1868  "  Eecol- 
lections  of  a  Busy  Life,"  a  series  of  autobiographical  reminiscences,  parts 
of  which  had  been  previously  contributed  to  tbe  columns  of  the  New 
York  Ledger ;  in  1870  "  Essays  Designed  to  Elucidate  the  Science  of 
Political  Economy,"  and  in  1871  "  What  I  Know  of  Farming."  "  The 
Tribune  Admanac,"  a  political  and  statistical  annual,  circulated  from 
fifty  to  a  hundred  thousand  copies  annually. 

In  1848  Mr.  Greeley  was  elected  to  the  House  of  Representatives,  tc 
fill  a  vacancy.  During  the  three  months  that  he  served  he  distin- 
guished himself  by  exposing  and  denouncing  the  abuses  of  the  mileage 
system,  but  more  through  the  columns  of  his  paper  than  from  his 
place  on  the  floor  of  the  house.  In  1851  he  visited  Europe,  and  was 
chairman  of  one  of  the  juries  of  the  World's  Fair  at  London.  In  1855 
he  made  a  second  trip  to  Europe.  In  1859  he  went  to  California  bj 
the  overland  route,  had  public  receptions  and  delivered  addresses  ic 
San  Francisco  and  elsewhere.  When  the  late  civil  war  seemed  immi- 
nent, Mr.  Greeley  at  first  advocated  a  peaceable  division  ;  but  after  the 
opening  of  hostilities  he  urged  a  vigorous  prosecution.  At  the  close  of 
the  war,  he  pleaded  for  immediate  conciliation.  In  May,  1867,  he 
signed  his  name  on  the  bail-bond  which  restored  Jefferson  Davis,  the 
former  President  of  the  short-lived  Confederacy,  to  liberty,  after  his 
two  years'  imprisonment  in  Fortress  Monroe.  This  act,  which  was  an 
entirely  unselfish  one,  made  him  many  bitter  enemies  at  the  North,  and 
lost  him  much  patronage. 

Horace  Greeley  was  "  pure,  simple,  and  conscientious  in  character. 
He  had  a  peculiar  disregard  for  dress,  and  neglected  many  of  the 
courtesies  of  society,  but  was  a  true  gentleman  at  heart,  and  possessed 
rare  gifts  in  conversation."  He  was  very  fond  of  agriculture,  and 
spent  his  leisure  days  on  his  farm  at  Chappaqua.  In  1872,  the  liberal 
republican  party,  consisting  of  republicans  opposed  to  the  administra- 
tion, nominated  him  for  the  presidential  term  commencing  1873.  The 
democrats  indorsed  the  nomination.  The  republicans  renominated 
President  Grant,  who  was  elected.  Just  before  the  close  of  the  can 
vass  his  wife  died,  and  this  sad  event,  together  with  the  desertion  of 
friends  and  the  excitement  of  the  contest,  proved  too  much  for  his  ex- 
hausted body  and  mind.    He  died  November  29,  1S72. 


EDWARD  DICKINSON  BAKER. 


The  subject  of  this  sketch,  though  of  foreign  birth,  has  become  one 
of  the  martyrs  of  our  liberty  by  laying  down  his  life  so  freely  in  its 
defence.  Struggling  nobly  against  poverty  in  his  early  life,  the  poor 
"weaver  became  one  of  the  greatest  statesmen,  one  of  the  bravest 
soldiers,  one  of  the  truest  patriots  that  our  free  institutions  have  yet 
developed.  He  was  born  in  London,  England,  February  24,  1811. 
The  family  emigrated  to  the  United  States  in  1815,  settling  in  Phila- 
delphia. Early  left  an  orphan,  he  obtained  an  education  under  many 
difficulties.  In  1825  young  Baker,  with  his  brother,  crossed  the  Alle- 
ghanies  on  foot,  and  passing  down  the  Wabash  in  a  canoe,  settled  on  the 
almost  unbroken  prairies  of  Illinois  ;  first  studied  for  the  ministry,  but 
soon  turned  his  attention  to  the  law  ;  was  admitted  to  practice  at  Belle- 
ville, Illinois  ;  removed  to  Springfield,  Illinois.  He  was  elected  mem- 
ber of  the  Legislature  in  1837,  of  the  State  Senate  in  1810,  and  repre- 
sentative in  Congress  in  1844.  On  the  breaking  out  of  the  Mexican 
war  he  resigned  his  seat  in  Congress,  became  the  colonel  of  a  regi- 
ment, and  was  under  General  Taylor  at  the  siege  of  Vera  Cruz. 
When  General  Shields  was  wounded  at  Cerro  Gordo,  the  gallant 
Baker  became  the  commander  of  his  brigade. 

At  the  close  of  hostilities,  Colonel  Baker  removed  to  California.  In 
October,  1859,  when  Senator  Broderick  was  killed  by  Judge  Terry, 
"  because  he  was  opposed  to  slavery  and  a  corrupt  administration," 
Baker  was  a  fitting  orator  to  pronounce  his  eulogy.  Both  of  them,  the 
living  and  the  dead,  were  self-made  men  ;  and  the  son  of  the  stone- 
cutter, lying  in  mute  grandeur,  with  a  record  floating  round  that 
coffin  that  bowed  the  heads  of  the  surrounding  thousands  down  in  mute 
respect,  might  have  been  proud  of  the  tribute  which  the  weaver's 
apprentice  was  about  to  lay  upon  his  breast.  For  minutes  after  the 
vast  audience  had  settled  itself  to  hear  his  words,  the  orator  did  not 
speak.    He  did  not  look  at  the  coffin — nay,  neither  to  the  right  nor  left ; 


EDWARD    DICKINSON  BAKER. 


but  the  gaze  of  his  fixed  eye  was  turned  within  his  mind,  and  the  stil. 
tears  coursed  rapidly  down  his  cheek.  Then,  when  the  silence  was  the 
most  intense,  his  tremulous  voice  rose  like  a  wail,  and  with  an  uninter- 
rupted stream  of  lofty,  burning,  and  pathetic  words,  he  so  penetrated  and 
possessed  the  hearts  of  the  sorrowing  multitude,  that  there  was  not  one 
cheek  less  moistened  than  his  own.  For  an  hour  he  held  them  as  with 
a  spell ;  and  when  he  finished,  by  bending  over  the  calm  face  of  the 
noble  corse,  and  stretching  his  arms  forward  with  an  impressive  ges- 
ture, exclaimed,  in  quivering  accents,  "  Good  friend  !  brave  heart !  gal- 
lant leader  !  hail  and  farewell !  "  the  audience  broke  forth  in  a  general 
response  of  sobs.  Never,  perhaps,  was  eloquence  more  thrilling ; 
never,  certainly,  was  it  better  adapted  to  the  temper  of  its  listeners. 
The  merit  of  the  eulogy  divided  public  encomiums  with  the  virtues  of 
the  deceased,  and  the  orator  became  invested  with  the  dead  Senator's 
political  fortunes.  He  soon  after  removed  to  Oregon,  where  in  1860 
he  was  elected  Senator  for  six  years. 

At  the  outbreak  of  the  late  Civil  War,  Baker  was  one  of  the  first  to 
rush  to  the  field.  At  the  great  meeting  of  the  people  in  Union  Square, 
New  York  City,  April  19,  1861,  he  was  among  the  most  earnest  of  the 
speakers.  He  was,  however,  not  only  a  speaker — he  was  a  doer  as 
well ;  and  soon  he  had  gathered  about  him  as  effective  a  regiment  as 
ever  engaged  in  a  campaign.  His  regiment  soon  became  a  brigade, 
and  the  government  would  have  made  him  a  major-general,  had  he  not 
wished  to  retain  his  seat  in  the  United  States  Senate.  He  was  at  first 
stationed  at  Fortress  Monroe,  whence  he  was  transferred  to  the  Upper 
Potomac,  under  the  command  of  Brigadier-General  Charles  P.  Stone. 

On  the  morning  of  the  21st  of  October,  Colonel  Baker  received 
orders  to  cross  the  river  with  his  brigade,  and  make  a  reconnoissance 
towards  Dranesville.  The  place  of  crossing  selected  by  General  Stone 
was  Ball's  Bluff — a  steep,  clayey  bank,  fourteen  feet  high  ;  the  trans- 
portation, two  old  scows,  holding  about  thirty-five  men  each,  propelled 
by  poles  across  the  deep  and  rapid  stream.  Surmounting  all  obstacles, 
the  stream  was  crossed,  the  bank  ascended,  and  the  brave  leader  found 
himself  in  a  thick  forest,  surrounded  by  the  enemy.  He  held  them  at 
bay  for  hours  ;  but  his  men  were  falling  like  grass  before  the  scythe. 
Having  been  reinforced,  he  placed  himself  at  the  head  of  his  regiment 
and  heroically  charged  on  their  ranks,  but  he  became  the  mark  for  a 
dozen  rifles,  and  the  noble  leader  and  orator,  matchless  of  the  earth 
fell  mute,  to  speak  no  more  ! 


AUGUSTUS  B. 


LONG  STREET. 


This  judge,  preacher,  and  teacher  was  one  of  the  most  respected  and 
able  of  prominent.  Georgians.  His  father,  William  Longstreet,  is  said 
to  have  preceded  the  celebrated  Fulton  in  the  application  of  steam  as 
the  motive  power  to  propel  water  craft. 

The  Rev.  A.  B.  Longstreet,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  was  born  in  Augusta, 
Georgia,  on  the  22d  of  September,  1790.  He  was  sent  to  school  at 
Augusta,  to  the  Richmond  Academy,  at  two  different  periods.  He 
afterwards  attended  the  famous  school  of  Dr.  Moses  Waddell  in  South 
Carolina.  Three  years  under  that  eminent  teacher  fitted  him  to  enter 
the  Junior  class  of  Yale  College,  which  he  did  in  1811,  and  graduated 
in  1813.  From  Yale  College  he  passed  a  year  in  the  law-school  of 
Judges  Reeves  and  Gould,  in  Litchfield,  Connecticut,  and  thence  re- 
turned to  Georgia,  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1815,  and  soon  entered 
upon  an  extensive  and  lucrative  practice. 

In  1817  Judge  Longstreet  married  Miss  Frances  Eliza  Parke,  with 
whom  he  lived  happily  for  more  than  fifty  years.  Settling  in  Greens- 
borough,  Georgia,  he  soon  represented  the  County  of  Greene  in  the 
General  Assembly  of  the  State.  Rising  rapidly  in  his  profession  he 
was  elevated  to  the  bench  of  the  Ocmulgee  Circuit.  In  1824  he  be- 
came a  candidate  for  Congress,  with  the  certain  assurance  of  an  election, 
and  a  brilliant  political  career ;  but  the  death  of  his  only  son  turned 
his  thoughts  from  the  struggle  for  the  fleeting  glory  which  this  world 
bestows  to  higher  things.  With  a  changed  and  melted  heart  he  united 
with  the  Methodist  Church.  In  1837  he  removed  to  Augusta,  continu- 
ing his  practice  of  law  in  the  State  Courts,  in  the  Circuit  Courts  of  the 
United  States,  and,  on  a  few  occasions,  in  the  Supiw^e  Court  of  the 
United  States  at  the  City  of  Washington. 

In  1838  Judge  Longstreet  retired  from  the  practice  of  law,  and 
united  his  fortunes  witli  the  Georgia  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  as  an  itinerant  preacher.    He  was  stationed  in  Augusta. 


AUGUSTUS    B .  LONGSTKEET. 


In  1839  the  yellow  fever  broke  out  in  that  city  with  great  malignity. 
Judge  Longstreet  and  Mr.  Barry,  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church — af- 
terwards Bishop  Barry — were  the  only  ministers  of  the  gospel  of  Christ 
who  remained  and  gave  untiring  care  to  the  victims  of  the  terrible  dis- 
ease. 

In  1839  Judge  Longstreet  was  elected  President  of  Emory  College, 
at  Oxford,  Georgia,  and  continued  to  discharge  the  duties  of  that  office 
until  184S,  when  he  resigned.  During  his  presidency  here  the  degree 
of  Doctor  of  Laws  was  conferred  upon  him  by  Yale  College,  at  the  in- 
stance of  John  C.  Calhoun.  In  1848  he  was  elected  President  of  Cen- 
tenary College,  Louisiana ;  resigned  in  July,  1849,  to  take  the  position 
of  President  of  the  University  of  Mississippi,  where  he  remained  till 
1S56.  The  following  year  he  was  elected  to  the  Presidency  of  the 
South  Carolina  College,  but  did  not  enter  upon  his  duties  till  January, 
1858.  In  1S60  he  was  appointed  a  delegate  to  the  Statistical  Congress 
at  London  by  the  administration  of  President  Buchanan.  He  continued 
in  the  Presidency  of  the  South  Carolina  College  till  the  close  of  1861, 
when  most  of  the  students  of  that  institution  volunteered  in  the  South- 
ern army,  and  Dr.  Longstreet,  having  scarcely  any  one  left  to  teach,  re- 
signed and  moved  back  to  Oxford,  Mississippi,  where  he  died  on  the 
9th  of  July,  1870. 

During  his  protracted  life  Dr.  Longstreet  wrote  many  magazine  ar- 
ticles, and  addresses  of  power  and  excellence.  Of  his  sermons  the  most 
valued  and  the  most  powerful  is  one  on  "  Infidelity,"  delivered  at  Louis- 
ville, Kentucky,  before  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  of  that 
city.  His  more  extended  published  works  are:  "Master  William 
Mitten  ;  or,  the  Youth  of  Brilliant  Talents,  who  was  Ruined  by  Bad 
Luck,"  and  a  capital  book  of  humor  entitled  "  Georgia  Scenes,  Char- 
acters, Incidents,  etc.,  in  the  First  Half  Century  of  the  Republic,  by  a 
Native  Georgian,"  which  first  appeared  in  a  newspaper  of  that  State, 
and  afterwards  in  a  volume  from  the  press  of  the  Harpers  in  New 
York.  "  In  style  and  subject-matter  they  are  vivid,  humorous  descrip- 
tions, by  a  good  storyteller,  who  employs  voice,  manner,  and  a  familiar 
knowledge  of  popular  dialogue  in  their  narration.  They  are  quaint, 
hearty  sketches  of  a  rough  life,  and  the  manners  of  an  unsettled  country 
—such  as  are  rapidly  passing  away  in  numerous  districts  where  they 
have  prevailed,  and  which  may  at  some  future  and  not  very  distant  day 
be  found  to  exist  only  in  such  genial  pages  as  Judge  Longstreet's." 

He  was  a  man  of  fine  education,  of  most  cultivated  taste,  fond  of 
music,  and  abounding  in  wit  and  humor. 


HON.  HENRY  "WILSON, 


HENRY  WILSON. 


One  of  the  most  distinguished  self-made  men  of  our  time  was  oui 
late  Vice-President,  the  Hon.  Henry  Wilson.  This  energetic  and  suc- 
cessful statesman  was  born  at  Farmington,  New  Hampshire,  February 
16,  1S12.  His  parents  being  poor,  his  educational  advantages  were  as 
limited  as  those  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  and  when  his  day's  work  on 
the  farm  of  a  neighbor,  to  whom  he  was  apprenticed,  was  over,  he 
spent  his  evenings  in  poring  over  useful  books.  At  the  age  of  twenty - 
one  he  had  read  nearly  every  work  on  American  and  English  history. 
Mr.  Wilson,  on  completing  his  minority,  went  to  Boston,  and  from 
thence  to  Natick,  Massachusetts,  where  he  went  to  work  at  making 
shoes,  occupying  his  leisure  moments  in  storing  his  memory  with  the 
legislative  history  of  the  country.  The  whole  secret  of  his  political 
life  dates  from  his  visit  to  Washington,  in  1838,  where,  upon  observing 
the  sale  of  some  slaves  at  an  auction,  he  swore  eternal  hostility  to  this 
institution  of  the  South.  Upon  his  return  home  he  attended  school  in 
New  Hampshire,  where  he  studied  mental  philosophy,  rhetoric,  and 
Euclid;  the  failure  of  a  friend  causing  his  means  to  give  out  he 
returned  to  Natick,  and  taught  a  winter  school.  From  1838  to  1848 
he  manufactured  shoes  for  the  Southern  market. 

In  1840  Mr.  Wilson  commenced  his  political  career  as  a  public 
speaker  in  the  Harrison  campaign.  The  same  year  he  was  elected  to  a 
seat  in  the  Massachusetts  Legislature,  and  at  once  turned  his  attention 
to  the  rules  of  parliamentary  practice,  and  to  the  question  before  the 
House.  He  was  a  strong  advocate  of  freedom  and  a  liberal  policy. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Wilson  took  place  during  the  month  of  Octo- 
ber, 1840.  Three  years  later  he  was  elected  to  the  State  Senate  ;  and 
in  the  House,  two  years  after,  made  one  of  the  best  and  ablest  speeches 
ever  heard  by  that  body.  For  over  two  years  he  conducted  the  Bos- 
ton Bepublican,  which  he  had  purchased  in  1848,  with  great  ability. 
He  was  speaker  of  the  State  Senate  in  1850  and  1851 ;  and  wap 


HENEY  WILSON. 


nominated  for  Congress  and  defeated  in  1852.  In  the  ensuing  year  he 
was  sent  as  a  delegate,  by  the  towns  of  Natick  and  Berlin,  to  the  State 
Constitutional  Convention,  where  he  made  about  a  hundred  and  fifty 
speeches.  In  1855,  he  was  elected  to  serve,  during  the  unexpired  term 
of  Edward  Everett,  as  United  States  Senator ;  and  in  the  following 
year  delivered  his  important  Kansas  speech  in  the  Senate.  In  1859 
he  was  almost  unanimously  re-elected  to  the  Senate,  and  made,  in 
March  of  that  year,  his  celebrated  speech  in  defence  of  Northern  labo; . 

Upon  the  opening  of  the  great  drama  of  the  civil  war  Mr.  Wilson 
went  to  work  witb  greater  energy  than  ever.  He  introduced  the  acts  for 
the  employment  of  five  hundred  thousand  volunteers,  for  the  purchase 
of  arms  and  ordnance,  for  increasing  the  pay  of  privates,  &c,  &c.  In 

1861  he  enlisted  two  thousand  three  hundred  men,  organized  the  Mas- 
sachusetts Twenty-second  Regiment,  and,  as  its  colonel,  conducted  it 
to  Washington.  The  same  year  he  introduced  the  bill  for  the  abolition 
of  slavery  in  the  District  of  Columbia  ;  in  1862  the  bill  for  the  employ- 
ment of  colored  soldiers;  in  1864  the  bill  for  paying  them,  and  also 
that  for  freeing  their  wives  and  children.    Mr.  Cameron  said  of  him  in 

1862  :  "  No  man,  in  my  opinion,  has  done  more  to  aid  the  War  Depart- 
ment in  preparing  the  mighty  army  now  under  arms." 

lion.  Henry  Wilson  was  re-elected  to  the  U.  S.  Senate  in  1865,  and 
again,  at  the  expiration  of  that  term,  in  1871.  Through  his  efforts 
the  system  of  servitude  for  debt,  in  New  Mexico,  was  abolished,  in 
1867 ;  and  the  same  year  he  instituted  the  Congressional  Temperance 
Society  at  Washington.  The  summer  of  1871  he  spent  abroad.  In 
1872  he  received  the  nomination  of  the  Republican  party  as  Vice- 
President  of  the  United  States,  and  was  elected  by  a  large  majority. 

His  crowning  work  of  life  he  intended  to  be  "  The  History  of  the  Rise 
and  Fall  of  the  Slave  Power  in  America,"  in  three  volumes.  The  first 
volume,  published  in  1872,  treats  of  the  growth  and  power  of  Slavery 
from  its  introduction  ink)  Virginia  in  1620,  to  the  admission  of  Texas 
into  the  Union  as  a  Slave  State  in  1845.  Volume  second  relates  the 
ominous  events  and  political  struggles  that  convulsed  the  country  till  the 
outbreak  of  the  civil  war  in  1861 ;  while  the  third  and  concluding  volume 
was  to  be  devoted  to  that  series  of  measures  which  overthrew  Slavery, 
destroyed  the  Slave  power,  and  reconstructed  the  Union  on  the  basis 
of  freedom  and  equal  rights  to  all.  Written  through  failing  health, 
it  was  near  its  completion,  when  Henry  Wilson,  Vice-President  of  the 
United  States,  died  in  the  Vice-President's  room,  at  Washington,  No- 
vember 22,  1875. 


SIR  WILLIAM 


PEPPERRELL. 


One  of  the  most  distinguished  persons  born  in  Maine  was  th<?  son 
of  Colonel  William  Pepperrell,  a  native  of  Wales,  who  came  to  Hew 
England  as  apprentice  to  a  fisherman.  At  the  age  of  twenty-two  he 
settled  at  the  Isle  of  Shoals,  near  Kittery  Point,  to  which  place  he 
removed,  and  where  he  found  his  wife,  Margery  Bray,  the  daughter  of 
a  man  of  property,  who  came  from  Plymouth,  England.  His  business 
was  various:  the  most  lucrative  was  the  fisheries;  ship-building  was 
also  profitable.  Mr.  Newmarch  was  his  ministeB ;  and  when  the 
,  church  was  formed,  in  1714,  he  and  his  wife  and  several  daughters, 
with  their  husbands,  were  members.  He  had  two  sons  and  six 
daughters.  As  Andrew  died  about  1713,  he  left  his  estate  chiefly  to 
William.  This  son,  afterwards  Sir  William,  was  born  at  Kittery 
Point,  Maine,  June  27,  161)6.  Originally  a  merchant,  he  possessed 
those  characteristics  of  body  and  mind  which  fitted  him  for  a  military 
career.  He  had  a  high  relish  for  the  pleasures  of  society,  and  was  the 
life  and  spirit  of  every  company. 

He  married,  March  16,  1723,  Mary  Hirst,  the  daughter  of  Grove 
Hirst,  of  Boston,  and  the  granddaughter  of  Judge  Sewall.  When  he 
first  saw  her,  in  1722,  at  the  house  of  her  relative,  Rev.  Samuel  Moody, 
of  York,  his  visit  was  very  unwelcome  to  Joseph,  the  son  of  Mr.  Moody, 
who  in  his  journal  has  recorded  that  he  was  bewildered  by  the  attrac- 
tions of  the  young  lady.  It  was  no  wonder  that  the  pretensions  of  the 
schoolmaster  could  not  rival  those  of  Colonel  Pepperrell,  the  heir  of  a 
man  of  wealth,  who  also  conducted  the  affair  with  much  skill,  making 
presents  of  gold  rings,  and  a  large  hoop,  and  other  articles  of  dress, 
thus  awakening  a  little  vanity  which  drew  upon  Miss  Hirst,  who,  in  the 
preceding  year,  had  made  a  profession  of  religion,  the  remonstrances 
of  her  friends. 

In  1827  he  was  chosen  a  member  of  the  Province  Council,  and  was 
annually  re-elected  thirty-two  years  till  his  death.    Living  in  a  country 


SIR  WILLIAM 


PEPPEEEELL. 


exposed  to  Indian  hostility,  he  displayed  a  firmness  of  mind  and  great 
calmness  in  time  of  danger.  He  rose  to  the  highest  military  honors 
which  his  country  could  bestow  upon  him.  When  the  expedition  against 
Louisburg  was  contemplated,  he  was  commissioned  by  the  Governors  of 
New  England  to  command  the  troops.  Pie  invested  the  city,  aided  by 
Commodore  Warren,  and  articles  of  capitulation  were  signed,  June  16, 
1745.  The  king,  in  reward  of  his  services,  conferred  upon  him  the 
dignity  of  a  Baronet  of  Great  Britain,  an  honor  never  before  nor  since 
conferred  on  a  native  of  New  England.  Visiting  England  in  1749,  he 
was  made  a  colonel  in  the  British  army ;  became  major-general  in 
1755,  and  lieutenant-general  in  1759.  He  was  for  thirty  years  one 
of  the  commissioners  to  treat  with  the  Eastern  Indians,  and  as  presi- 
dent of  the  council,  was  acting  Governor  of  Massachusetts  from 
the  death  of  Phipps,  in  March,  1756,  until  the  arrival  of  Pownall  in 
1758.  He  died  at  Kittery,  Maine,  July  6,  1759.  He  was  a  man  of 
great  wealth.  He  owned  in  Saco  5,500  acres,  being  the  site  of  that 
populous  town,  and  his  possessions  were  large  in  Portsmouth,  Hamp- 
ton, Berwick,  and  other  towns.  His  will  was  drawn  up  with  great 
care,  but  he  gave  at  his  death  little  to  educational  and  charitable  pur- 
poses. He  had  been  liberal  to  his  parish,  and  to  New  Jersey  College, 
lie  had  two  children,  a  daughter  and  a  son — the  latter  died  in  1751,  at 
the  age  of  twenty-five.  The  daughter,  Elizabeth,  married  Colonel 
Nathaniel  Sparhawk.  Their  son,  William  P.  Sparhawk,  was  made 
heir  of  his  grandfather,  Sir  William,  on  condition  of  dropping  the 
name  of  Sparhawk.  He  was  graduated  at  Cambridge  in  1766,  and 
became  Sir  William  Pepperrell,  in  1774.  But,  espousing  the  British 
side  in  the  controversy,  all  his  vast  property  was  confiscated  and  swept 
away.  In  England  he  was  treated  with  respect,  and  received  £500 
per  annum  from  the  British  Government ;  he  died  in  London,  in  1816, 
aged  seventy. 

The  descendants  of  Colonel  Sparhawk  are  numerous,  bearing  his 
name,  and  among  others  the  names  of  Spooner,  Jarvis,  and  Cutts. 

Lady  Pepperrell,  the  widow  of  Sir  William,  built  a  house  near  her 
daughter's,  at  Kittery,  and  survived  her  husband  thirty  years,  dying 
in  1789. 


JOHN 


L  0  R I M  E  11 


WORDEN. 


Tbts  gallant  commander  of  the  famous  "  Monitor "  was  born  at 
Mount  Pleasant,  Westchester  County,  New  York,  on  the  12th  of  March, 
1818.  lie  early  determined  to  follow  the  sea,  and  as  midshipman 
made  his  maiden  cruise  in  the  sloop-of-war  "Erie"  to  the  coast  of  Bra- 
zil.   In  November,  1846,  he  was  promoted  to  a  lieutenancy. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  Civil  War,  Lieutenant  Worden  rendered 
himself  illustrious  through  the  adventures  he  met  with  in  conveying 
despatches  for  the  reinforcement  of  Fort  Pickens,  in  Florida.  Finding 
that  there  was  a  speedy  prospect  of  the  commencement  of  hostilities, 
he  committed  the  despatches  to  memory,  and  then  destroyed  the  writ- 
ten documents.  Arriving  at  Pensacola  on  the  morning  of  April  11 
1861,  he  was  ordered  under  temporary  arrest,  but  General  Bragg,  who 
commanded  the  Confederate  forces,  gave  him  a  pass  which  enabled 
him  to  go  on  board  the  "Sabine."  After  delivering  the  despatches  to 
Captain  Adams,  of  the  "  Sabine,"  he  returned  to  Pensacola,  and  took 
the  train  for  Montgomery  unmolested  ;  but  the  following  day,  and 
when  within  five  miles  of  Montgomery,  he  was  arrested  by  a  telegraphic 
order  from  Bragg,  and  was  placed  in  charge  of  the  marshal  until  the 
15th  inst.,  when  he  was  thrown  into  the  county  jail,  where,  treated  as  a 
prisoner  of  war,  he  remained  until  the  14th  of  November,  when  he  was 
released  on  a  parole,  and  ordered  to  report  to  the  Adjutant- General  at 
Richmond.  From  here  he  was  sent  to  Norfolk  and  exchanged  for 
Lieutenant  Sharp,  of  the  Confederate  Navy. 

Lieutenant  Worden,  being  in  feeble  health,  remained  in  New  York 
City  until  February,  1862.  He  was  then  placed  in  command  of  the 
Ericsson  iron-clad  battery,  "  Monitor,"  a  new  and  novel  piece  of  naval 
architecture.  This  "  Yankee  cheese-box,"  as  it  was  nick-named  at  the 
time,  was  a  hull  with  the  deck  a  few  inches  above  the  water,  and  in  the 
centre  a  curious  round  tower  made  to  slowly  revolve  by  steam-power, 
thus  turning  the  two  guns  it  contained  in  every  direction.  After  a 
perilous  voyage  she  arrived  in  Hampton  Roads  on  the  evening  of  the 
8th  of  March,  just  after  the  raid  of  the  iron-clad  "  Merrimac."  ,p' 


JOHN     LOKIMEE     W  O  It  D  E  N  . 


the  "Monitor"  was  bat  of  nine  hundred  tons  burden,  she  prepared  to 
meet  an  adversary  of  five  thousand  tons  bnrden.  Early  on  the  morning 
of  the  9th,  the  "  Merrimac  "  appeared,  moving  toward  the  steam  frigate 
"Minnesota."  Suddenly,  from  under  her  lee,  the  little  "Monitor" 
darted  out  and  hurled  two  one  hundred  and  sixty-eight  pound  balls. 
Startled  by  the  appearauee  of  this  unexpected  and  queer-looking  an- 
tagonist, the  "  Merrimac  "  poured  in  a  broadside  such  as  the  night  before 
had  destroyed  the  "  Congress,"  but  the  balls  rattled  harmlessly  off  the 
"Monitor's"  turret,  or  broke  and  fell  in  pieces  on  the  deck.  Then 
began  the  battle  of  the  iron  ships.  It  was  witnessed  by  thousands,  and 
was  the  first  of  the  kind  in  the  history  of  navies.  The  result  is  well 
known.  During  the  engagement  a  shell  from  the  "  Merrimac  "  struck 
and  burst  on  the  pilot-house  of  the  "  Monitor,"  seriously  injuring  the 
eyes  of  Lieutenant  Worden,  who  was  looking  out  through  a  narrow  slit 
and  directing  the  fire  of  his  guns.  lie  was  blind  for  over  a  month,  but 
subsequently  regained  his  sight.  "  The  story  of  this  conflict  spread 
over  the  globe.  It  seemed  to  give  the  death-stroke  to  wooden  war  ves- 
sels. The  '  Monitor '  system  not  only  presented  the  Union  with  a  vessel 
which  could  cope  with  all  the  other  Confederate  iron-clads,  render  the 
blockade  more  efficient,  bombard  forts,  and  protect  the  coast  against 
all  fear  of  foreign  invasion,  but  it  rendered  the  United  States  the  most 
formidable  naval  power  in  the  world." 

Lieutenant  Worden  received  his  commission  as  Commander,  July 
12,  1862,  taking  command  of  the  iron-clad  steamer  "  Montauk,"  of  the 
South  Atlantic  Blockading  Squadron,  commanding  the  "  Montauk,"  in 
the  blockading  fleet  in  the  Ossabaw  Sound,  and  engaging  Fort  McAllister, 
on  the  Ogeechee  River,  January  27,  1863,  and  again  on  February  1, 
1863  ;  attacked  and  destroyed  the  privateer  "  Nashville  "  under  the  guns 
of  Fort  McAllister,  on  February  28, 1863  ;  commanded  the  "  Montauk  " 
in  the  attack  made  by  Admiral  Du  Pont,  with  the  iron-clad  fleet,  on  the 
defences  of  Charleston,  on  April  7,  1863.  He  was  commissioned  as 
Captain,  February  3,  1863.  Captain  Worden  was  promoted  out  of  the 
line  as  a  reward  for  distinguished  gallantry  in  the  engagement  with 
the  "  Merrimac,"  and  in  other  battles  in  which  he  had  taken  part.  On 
special  duty  in  New  York,  1864-6  ;  he  commanded  the  steam-sloop 
"  Fensacola,"  of  the  North  Pacific  Squadron,  1867;  he  was  also  on 
special  duty,  1868.  He  was  commissioned  as  Commodore  on  May  27, 
1868,  and  as  Superintendent  of  the  Naval  Academy,  1870-4. 

On  November  20,  1872,  Worden  attained  the  rank  of  Rear  Admi 
ral,  aud  was  placed  in  command  of  a  European  station  in  1875-7. 

92 


RICHARD 


MENTOR 


JOHNSON. 


In  the  cemetery  at  Frankfort,  Kentucky,  there  stands  a  beautiful 
marble  monument  bearing  this  inscription  :  "  To  the  memory  of  Col. 
Richard  M.  Johnson,  a  faithful  public  servant  for  nearly  half  a  century 
as  a  member  of  the  Kentucky  Legislature  and  Senator  in  Congress. 
Author  of  the  Sunday  Mail  Report,  and  of  the  laws  abolishing  impris- 
onment for  debt  in  Kentucky  and  in  the  United  States.  Distinguished 
for  his  valor  as  a  colonel  of  a  Kentucky  regiment  at  the  battle  of  the 
Thames.  For  four  years  Vice-President  of  the  United  States.  Ken- 
tucky, his  native  State,  to  mark  the  sense  of  his  eminent  services  in  the 
cabinet  and  in  the  field,  has  erected  this  monument  in  the  resting-place 
of  her  illustrious  dead." 

This  distinguished  native  of  Kentucky,  whom  the  whole  United 
States  regarded  with  pride  and  gratitude,  was  born  at  Bryant's  Sta- 
tion, five  miles  north-east  of  Lexington,  on  October  17,  1781.  He  re- 
ceived his  education  at  Transylvania  University,  and  afterwards 
studied  law  with  James  Brown,  a  distinguished  lawyer  and  statesman. 
Commencing  the  practice  of  his  profession,  he  met  with  uniform  suc- 
cess, and  rapidly  rose  to  a  high  rank. 

His  career  as  a  public  servant  began  with  his  election  to  the  Ken- 
tucky Legislature,  where  he  served  two  years.  In  1807  he  was  elected  a 
Representative  in  the  Federal  Congress,  and  took  his  seat  there  when 
he  was  just  twenty-five  years  of  age.  He  warmly  supported  President 
Madison  during  his  administration,  and  upon  the  commencement  of 
the  second  war  with  Great  Britain,  known  as  the  War  of  1812,  he 
raised  a  volunteer  body  of  Kentucky  mounted  riflemen,  and  during  the 
campaign  served  on  the  Canadian  frontier  with  great  credit.  The 
commission  of  colonel  was  given  him  by  Governor  Shelby.  In  Sep- 
tember, 1813,  Colonel  Johnson  joined  General  Harrison,  and  in  October 
bore  a  brilliant  part  in  the  battle  of  the  Thames.  Proctor  and  Tecumseh 
were  at  Maiden  with  their  two  thousand  British  and  Indian  followers, 


RICHARD     MENTOR  JOHNSON. 


waiting  to  lay  waste  the  frontier.  General  Harrison,  at  Sandusky 
Bay,  was  nearly  ready  to  invade  Canada,  when  news  of  young  Com- 
modore Perry's  splendid  victory  on  Lake  Erie  reached  him.  He 
immediately  crossed  the  lake,  and  finding  Maiden  deserted  set  out  in 
pursuit  of  the  enemy.  He  overtook  them  on  the  Iiiver  Thames. 
Drawing  up  his  troops  he  ordered  Colonel  Johnson  with  his  Kentucky 
horsemen  to  charge  the  English  in  front.  Dashing  through  the 
forest,  they  broke  the  enemy's  line,  and  forming  in  their  rear,  prepared 
to  pour  in  a  deadly  fire.  The  British  had  before  been  returning  the 
fire  with  galling  effect,  but  they  now  surrendered.  Proctor  escaped  by 
the  swiftness  of  his  horse.  Colonel  Johnson  pushed  forward  to  attack 
the  Indians  who  suffered  the  greatest  loss  in  numbers.  In  the  heat  of 
the  action,  a  bullet,  said  to  have  been  fired  by  the  hand  of  Johnson, 
struck  Tecumseh.  When  the  savages  realized  that  their  leader  was 
dead,  they  lost  all  hope  and  fled  in  terror  and  confusion.  This  impor- 
tant success,  with  Perry's  signal  victory,  relieved  Michigan,  gave  con- 
trol of  Lake  Erie,  and  virtually  decided  the  war. 

Colonel  Johnson  while  rendering  such  effective  service  was  desper- 
ately wounded.  AVLen  carried  from  the  field  his  person,  clothing,  and 
horse  had  been  pierced  by  twenty-five  bullets.  In  the  following  Feb- 
ruary, though  still  unable  to  walk,  he  resumed  his  seat  in  Congress. 
In  1814,  President  Madison  appointed  him  Indian  Commissioner. 

In  1819,  upon  the  expiration  of  his  last  term  in  Congress,  he  was 
at  once  elected  a  member  of  his  State  Legislature.  He  had  but  just 
taken  his  seat  when  he  was  chosen  to  fill  a  vacancy  in  the  United 
States  Senate.  For  ten  years  he  continued  to  discharge  his  duties  as 
Senator,  when,  in  1829,  he  was  re-elected  to  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives, where  he  remained  until  1837.  The  next  public  office  he  filled 
was  that  of  Vice-President  of  the  United  States,  and  as  such  presided 
over  the  body  of  which  he  was  formerly  a  member.  He  served  through- 
out President  Van  Buren's  administration,  and  in  1840  again  became 
the  Democratic  candidate  for  the  Vice-Presidency,  but  was  not  elected. 

Mr.  Johnson,  about  this  time,  retired  from  public  life,  and  going 
to  his  farm  in  Scott  County,  Kentucky,  he  spent  the  greater  part  of 
his  time  there  in  seclusion.  At  the  time  of  his  death,  however,  he 
was  serving  a  term  in  the  State  Legislature.  lie  died  of  paralysis,  in 
Frankfort,  on  November  19,  1850. 

Mr.  Johnson  was  a  talented  statesman,  a  courageous  soldier,  and  a 
man  whose  many  estimable  qualities  endeared  him  to  his  personal 
friends  and  to  those  who  knew  hiin  only  by  reputation. 


PARK  BENJAMIN. 


Park  Benjamin  was  born  on  the  14th  of  August,  1809,  at  Deme- 
rara,  in  British  Guiana,  where  his  father,  a  merchant  from  New 
England,  resided  many  years.  Their  ancestors  came  from  Wales  to 
New  England  at  an  early  period.  In  his  infancy,  Park  Benjamin 
suffered  from  an  illness,  the  improper  medical  treatment  of  which  left 
him  lame  for  life.  When  he  was  three  years  old  his  parents  sent  him 
to  America  under  the  care  of  a  faithful  guardian,  but  it  was  too  late 
for  even  the  skilful  New  England  physician  under  whose  charge 
he  was  placed  to  completely  restore  him,  though  his  general  health 
became  good.    From  this  time  America  was  his  home. 

During  his  childhood  he  attended  an  excellent  village  school  in 
Colchester,  Connecticut.  When  he  was  twelve  years  of  age  he  went 
to  New  Haven,  and  after  passing  three  years  in  his  father's  family, 
was  sent  to  a  private  boarding-school  near  Boston,  where  he  remained 
until  he  entered  Harvard  College,  in  1825.  Before  the  close  of  his 
second  year  he  was  compelled,  by  a  severe  and  tedious  sickness,  to  leave 
Harvard.  On  his  recovery  he  entered  Washington  College  at  Hartford, 
where  he  was  graduated  with  the  highest  honors  of  his  class,  in  1829. 
The  next  year  he  entered  the  Law  School  at  Cambridge,  and  was 
admitted  to  the  Connecticut  bar  in  1S33.  Removing  to  Boston  soon 
after,  he  was  admitted  to  the  courts  of  Massachusetts.  Withdrawing 
from  the  law  he  devoted  himself  to  literature. 

Early  in  the  spring  of  1835,  Mr.  Benjamin  became  connected  with 
the  "  New  England  Magazine."  In  less  than  a  year  he  transferred  the 
work  to  New  York,  continuing  it  with  the  publishing  house  of  Dear- 
born &  Co.,  with  which  he  became  connected,  as  the  "  American 
Monthly  Magazine,"  five  volumes  of  which  were  published  from  Janu- 
ary, 1S3G,  to  June,  1S38.  He  next  became  associated  with  Horace 
Greeley  in  the  editorship  of  the  "New  Yorker,"  a  weekly  journal 
devoted  to  literature  and  politics.    In  1810,  Mr.  Benjamin  and  liufus 


PARK  BENJAMIN". 


W.  Griswold  established  in  New  York,  the  "  New  World,"  a  large- 
sized  weekly  newspaper,  which  met  the  wants  of  the  day  by  its  cheap 
and  wholesome  republication  of  the  English  magazine  literature.  The 
"  New  World "  soon  became  deservedly  popular,  and  its  reputation 
was  well  sustained  by  a  corps  of  spirited  contributors.  After  conduct- 
ing it  successfully  for  five  years  it  passed  from  Mr.  Benjamin's  hands, 
and  in  1846  he  started,  in  Baltimore,  "  The  Western  Continent,"  a 
weekly  newspaper  on  the  plan  of  the  "  New  World."  This  was  only 
published  for  a  short  time,  and  the  next  year  he  commenced  a  similar 
weekly,  entitled  the  "  American  Mail,"  but  it  was  soon  discontinued. 

Mr.  Benjamin  was  known  as  a  poet  as  well  as  an  editor,  and  his 
prose  writings  are  numerous.  His  longest  metrical  compositions  are 
"  A  Poem  on  the  Meditation  of  Nature,"  delivered  on  the  day  of  his 
graduation  at  Washington  College,  "  Poetry  :  A  Satire,"  and  "  Infatua- 
tion :  A  Satire."  Some  of  Mr.  Benjamin's  shorter  poems  show  a  quick 
perception  of  the  ridiculous,  others  warm  affections  and  a  meditative 
spirit,  and  the  greater  number  gayety.  "  They  are  adorned  with  ap- 
posite and  pretty  fancies,  and  seem  generally  to  be  expressive  of  actual 
emotions.  Most  of  them  were  written  hastily,  and  they  are  not  with- 
out the  usual  faults  of  unstudied  verse ;  but  they  evince  the  possession 
of  a  fertile  fancy  and  good  taste.  His  keen  perception  of  the  ludicrous 
is  shown  in  the  sonnet  entitled  '  Sport.' " 

SPORT. 

To  see  a  fellow,  of  a  summer's  morning-, 

With  a  large  foxhound  of  a  slumbrous  eye 

And  a  slim  gun,  go  slowly  lounging  by, 
About  to  give  the  feathered  bipeds  warning, 

That  probably  they  may  be  shot  hereafter, 

Excites  in  me  a  quiet  kind  of  laughter ; 
For,  though  I  am  no  lover  of  the  sport 

Of  harmless  murder,  yet  it  is  to  me 

Almost  the  funniest  thing  on  earth  to  see 
A  corpulent  person,  breathing  with  a  snort, 
Go  on  a  shooting  frolic  all  alone ; 

For  well  I  know  that  when  he's  out  of  town, 

He  and  his  dog  and  gun  will  all  lie  down, 
And  undestructive  sleep  till  game  and  light  are  flown. 

Park  Benjamin  died  in  New  York  City,  on  the  12th  of  Septem- 
ber, 1864.  During  the  last  years  of  his  life  he  delivered  lectures  on 
social  and  other  topics,  varying  them  with  recitations  of  poems  of  his 
own  composition. 


GEORGE    WILLIAM  CHILDS. 


George  W.  Citilds,  the  proprietor  of  the  "  Public  Ledger,"  pub- 
lished at  Philadelphia,  was  born  in  Baltimore,  on  the  12th  of  May, 
1829.  At  thirteen  years  of  age  he  entered  the  United  States  Navy,  in 
which  service  he  remained  fifteen  months.  Going  soon  after  from 
Baltimore  to  Philadelphia,  he  found  employment  as  errand  boy  in  a 
bookstore.  Before  long  his  employer,  who  had  recognized  his  admira- 
ble business  qualities,  which  were  noticeable  even  at  that  early  age, 
began  to  intrust  him  with  the  duty  of  visiting  auction  sales  in  New  York 
and  Boston,  and  the  purchase  of  books. 

"When  but  eighteen  years  old,  young  Mr.  Childs,  having  saved  a  few 
hundred  dollars,  hired  a  small  room  in  the  building  then  occupied  by 
the  "  Public  Ledger,"  and  commenced  business  for  himself.  A  purpose 
60on  formed  in  the  young  man's  active,  "  go  ahead  "  mind,  one  which 
any  ordinary  observer  would  have  pronounced  unlikely  to  be  fulfilled, 
but  which,  in  spite  of  the  seeming  magnitude  of  the  obstacles  in  the 
way  to  success,  was  accomplished  sixteen  years  afterward.  This  was  to 
one  day  own  the  "  Public  Ledger."  Step  by  step  the  end  was  reached. 
Before  he  was  twenty-one  he  was  in  the  firm  of  Childs  &  Peterson, 
book  publishers.  For  more  than  a  dozen  years  Mr.  Childs  continued 
in  the  publishing  business.  Within  that  period  the  house  issued  the 
brilliant  works  of  Dr.  Kane  upon  "  Arctic  Explorations,"  Mr.  Peter- 
son's compilations,  entitled  "  Familiar  Science,"  "  Bouvier's  Law 
Dictionary  "  "  Bouvier's  Institutes  of  American  Law,"  "  Sharswood's 
Blackstone,"  "  Fletcher's  Brazil,"  "  Lossing's  Illustrated  History  of  the 
Civil  War,"  and  .most  important  and  valuable  of  all.  Dr.  S.  A.  Alli- 
bone's  "  Dictionary  of  English  and  American  Authors,"  which,  with 
special  courtesy  and  a  due  sense  of  appreciation,  was  dedicated  by  its 
distinguished  author  to  Mr.  Childs  himself. 

At  last  the  opportunity  Mr.  Childs  had  so  long  been  working  and 
waiting  for  was  offered  by  the  determination  of  the  proprietors  of 


GEOEGE 


WILLIAM  CIIILDS. 


the  "Ledger"  to  dispose  of  the  entire  establishment.  In  the  early 
part  of  December,  1864,  the  purchase  was  made,  much  to  the  amaze- 
ment of  the  whole  community.  Under  the  management  of  the  new 
proprietor,  who  was  already  favorably  known  as  a  successful  publisher, 
the  Ledger  increased  in  circulation  and  in  reputation  as  a  paper 
whose  statements  could  always  be  relied  upon  as  accurate,  until  it 
attained  the  high  position  it  now  holds  among  leading  American  news- 
papers. With  the  growing  business  more  room  was  required,  and 
accordingly  the  present  "  Ledger  "  building,  situated  at  the  southwest 
corner,  of  Sixth  and  Chestnut  Streets,  was  erected  at  the  cost  of  more 
than  half  a  million  of  dollars.  "Beautiful  in  its  exterior,  it  is  still 
more  to  be  commended  for  the  perfect  adaptation  of  the  interior  to  the 
purposes  for  which  the  building  is  designed,  and  nothing  is  hazarded 
in  saying  that  the  '  Ledger  '  has  the  most  perfect  newspaper  office  in 
thi-s  country,  if  not  in  the  world.  In  its  construction  especial  care  was 
taken  to  provide  good  ventilation  and  a  plentiful  supply  of  light;  and 
the  proprietor  has  erected  bath-rooms  in  the  press-room,  composing- 
room,  and  in  the  job-department,  for  the  benefit  of  the  workmen. 
Nothing,  in  short,  that  judicious  liberality  could  attain  has  been  left 
undone  to  provide  for  the  comfort  of  all  engaged  in  the  establishment." 
The  employes  number  over  three  hundred. 

Prosperity  has  attended  the  "  Public  Ledger"  and  its  able  proprietor; 
and  now  that  Mr.  Childs  has  the  means  at  his  command  he  does  not 
forget  the  resolve  formed  in  his  youth,  when  "his  only  wealth  was 
industry,  perseverance,  and  a  stout  heart."  This  was  "  the  accumula- 
tion of  riches,  not  for  himself  alone,  but  to  make  others  happy  during 
and  after  his  life."  Well  has  this  noble  motto  been  illustrated.  His 
public  and  private  charities  are  many — none  appealing  to  him  in  vain- 
While  he  entertains  with  princely  hospitality  prominent  Americans  and 
distinguished  foreigners,  he  remembers  his  lowly  neighbors,  and  all 
engaged  in  his  employ.  By  opening  his  elegant  residences  hospitably 
to  visitors  from  foreign  lands,  Mr.  Childs  has  doubtless  done  much 
for  the  credit  of  his  country  in  this  particular,  while  he  has  brought 
about  associations  among  distinguished  personages,  which  could  scarce- 
ly fail  to  conduce  to  the  public  advantage.  Probably  no  gathering  of 
distinguished  and  notable  persons  was  ever  collected  in  the  parlors  of  a 
private  citizen  in  this  country  as  met,  by  invitation,  at  Mr.  Childs' 
Philadelphia  residence,  on  the  evening  of  May  10,  1S76 — the  day  of 
the  opening  of  the  Centennial  Exhibition  in  Philadelphia. 


MAJ-  GEN.  PHILIP  KEARNY 


PHILIP  KEARNY. 


Major  General,  Philip  Kearny,  U.  S.  V.,  was  born  in  New  York 
City,  on  the  2d  of  June,  1815.  His  mother  was  the  daughter  of  the 
philanthropist,  John  Watts,  founder  of  the  "Leake  and  Watts  Orphan 
Asylum."  In  accordance  with  her  wishes  young  Philip  Kearny  entered 
the  Law  School  of  Columbia  College  ;  but  the  bar  was  not  his  destina- 
tion. He  was  born  a  soldier,  and  as  soon  as  he  became  his  own  master, 
he  enlisted  in  the  First  United  States  Dragoons,  as  second  lieutenant. 
This  was  in  1837.  He  spent  over  a  year  in  this  service,  meantime 
devoting  himself  with  ardor  to  the  details  of  the  military  profession, 
and  acquiring  great  skill  in  horsemanship.  In  1839  his  distinction 
as  a  cavalry  officer  was  such  that  he  was  sent  to  Europe  by  the  Govern- 
ment to  study  and  report  upon  French  cavalry  tactics.  He  en- 
tered the  Polytechnic  School,  but  soon  after  joined  the  First  Chas- 
seurs d'Afrique  as  a  volunteer,  and  greatly  distinguished  himself  in  the 
campaign  of  Marshall  Vallee,  which  swept  the  Arabs  from  the  plains 
of  Metidjha,  and  forced  the  passage  of  the  "  Gates  of  Iron."  His 
bravery  gained  him  the  distinction  of  the  Cross  of  the  Legion  of  Honor. 

After  his  return  home  he  was  aid  to  General  Scott  from  1841  to 
1844,  and  served  under  him  through  the  Mexican  campaign  ;  was  bre- 
vetted  major  for  gallantry  at  Contreras  and  Cherubusco.  In  the  attack 
on  the  San  Antonio  Gate  of  the  city  of  Mexico,  he  had  the  misfortune 
to  lose  his  left  arm,  from  a  grape-shot  fired  from  the  batteries  at  the 
gate.  After  the  Mexican  war,  Major  Kearny  was  sent  to  California  in 
command  of  an  expedition  against  the  Indians  of  the  Columbia  River, 
in  which  trying  service  his  rare  qualities  as  a  bold,  cool,  brave  officer 
shone  conspicuously.  He  resigned  his  commission  in  October,  1851, 
and,  returning  to  Europe,  devoted  several  years  to  military  studies. 
In  1859  occurred-  the  Italian  war,  in  which  he  distinguished  himself 
greatly,  serving  as  a  volunteer  aid  on  the  staff  of  the  French  general, 
Maurier.  For  his  skill  and  bravery  at  Magenta  and  Solferino,  the  Em- 
peror Napoleon  III.  bestowed  upon  him  the  Cross  of  the  Legion  of 
Honor,  making  the  second  time  he  had  received  the  decoration. 


PHILIP  KEARNY. 


When  the  news  of  the  breaking  ont  of  the  Great  Civil  War  first 
reached  Europe,  Major  Kearny  was  residing  in  Paris.  He  lost  not  a 
moment  in  hurrying  home  to  offer  his  services  to  his  country.  They 
were  accepted,  and  the  President  appointed  him  a  brigadier-general  of 
volunteers  from  New  Jersey,  on  July  25,  1S61.  The  Senate  con- 
firmed his  appointment,  and  he  was  given  the  command  of  a  brigade  in 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac.  Wherever  the  advance  was,  there  was  the 
"indomitable"  Phil.  Kearny.  His  vigilance  was  sleepless.  Through- 
out the  disastrous  campaign  of  the  Peninsula  his  division  was  always  in 
the  hottest  of  the  fight.  When  the  seven  days'  battle  occurred,  lie 
6tayed  last  at  his  position,  unwilling  and  almost  refusing  to  go.  He 
was  bidden  to  leave  his  sick  and  wounded  and  retreat.  He  neverthe- 
less brought  every  man  of  them  away,  and,  covering  the  rear,  he  fought 
his  way  through,  finishing  at  Malvern  Hill  the  crowning  conflict  of  that 
movement.  In  no  battle  was  his  fighting  division  repulsed,  always 
holding  the  field.  In  recognition  of  his  great  services  in  the  Penin- 
sula he  received  the  commission  of  a  major-general  of  volunteers, 
dated  July  4,  1862.  His  division  was  one  of  the  first  to  reinforce 
General  Pope,  and  was  almost  constantly  engaged  in  the  battles 
between  the  Rappahannock  and  Washington  from  August  25th  to  Sep- 
tember 1st.  During  the  action  of  Chantilly  the  career  of  this  brave 
leader  came  to  a  close.  On  the  afternoon  of  September  1,  1862,  word 
came  that  the  enemy  was  stealthily  advancing  in  Pope's  rear  to  cut 
him  off  from  Washington.  Peno's  division  was  ordered  to  attack  them. 
Kearny's  had  been  fighting  without  cessation,  but  he  was,  nevertheless, 
ordered  to  support  Peno.  The  tiring  became  heavy.  General  Kearny 
was  apprised  by  General  Birney  that  Reno's  troops  had  given  way 
upon  his  left,  and  that  there  was  a  gap  between  their  flanks  which  the 
enemy  were  occupying.  He  rode  forward  personally  to  ascertain  the 
truth,  directing  his  orderly  and  aids  not  to  follow,  that  he  might 
be  unnoticed.  He  did  not  return  !  The  next  morning  General  Lee  sent 
in  a  flag  of  truce  with  the  body  of  the  illustrious  officer.  Language 
will  vainly  endeavor  to  describe  the  grief  either  of  the  army  or  the 
people  at  this  sad  event. 

General  Kearny  as  a  commander  was  remarkable  for  his  intuition, 
his  power  over  his  men,  his  rapidity  of  execution,  promptness  of  re- 
solve, unflinching  will,  and  thorough  knowledge  of  human  nature. 
When  General  Scott  called  him  "  bravest  of  the  brave,"  he  spoke  only 
the  literal  truth.    He  absolutely  never  knew  fear! 


JEREMIAH  DAY. 


Jeremiah  Day,  President  of  Yale  College,  was  born  in  New  Pres- 
ton, Connecticut,  on  the  3d  of  August,  1773.  His  father,  the  Reverend 
Jeremiah  Day,  was  a  graduate  of  Yile  College  in  the  year  1756 ; 
taught  school  at  Sharon  for  seven  years  ;  was  licensed  to  preach  in 
1767,  and  ordained  in  1770.  By  his  third  wife,  whom  he  married  in 
1772,  he  had  four  children  who  grew  up.  Jeremiah,  the  oldest  of  these 
children,  entered  Yale  College  in  1789,  but  poor  health  prevented  him 
from  going  on  with  his  class.  After  an  absence  of  several  years  his 
health  was  so  far  restored  as  to  enable  him  to  resume  his  studies,  and 
he  was  graduated  with  high  honors  in  1795. 

Mr.  Day  succeeded  Dr.  Dwight  in  the  charge  of  his  school  at  Green- 
field Hill,  Connecticut,  and  taught  there  a  year;  was  tutor  at  Williams 
College  from  1796  to  1798,  and  at  Yale  from  1798  to  1801.  During 
this  time  he  began  to  preach,  having  been  licensed  in  1800  by  the  As- 
sociation of  New  Haven  West.  In  the  summer  of  1801  his  health 
became  so  feeble  that  he  was  induced  to  give  up  teaching  and  go  to 
Bermuda,  where  he  remained  until  the  next  April.  Very  soon  after  he 
sailed  the  corporation  appointed  him  Professor  of  Mathematics  and 
Natural  Philosophy  in  Yale  College.  For  more  than  a  year  after  his 
return  to  the  United  States,  Mr.  Day  and  his  friends  believed  that  he 
had  consumption,  and  that  recovery  was  impossible.  Their  fears  were 
happily  not  realized.  A  change  of  treatment  caused  such  a  decided  im- 
provement that  in  the  early  part  of  the  summer  term  in  1803,  he  began 
the  duties  of  his  professorship.  In  1817  he  succeeded  Dr.  Dwight 
in  the  presidency.  In  July  of  the  same  year  he  was  formally  inaugu- 
rated, and  on  the  same  day  he  was  ordained  as  a  minister  of  the  gospel. 

President  Day  continued  in  his  office  for  twenty-nine  years.  When 
he  resigned  in  1846,  much  to  the  regret  of  all  in  the  College,  he  was 
elected  a  member  of  the  corporation,  and  thus  kept  up  his  connection 
with  the  institution.  Though  he  was  then  over  seventy  years  of  age,  and 
his  health  had  always  been  delicate, his  faculties  remained  unimpaired. 
"  His  judgments  were  as  just  and  wise,  as  safe  and  as  much  built  on 


JEREMIAH  DAY. 


principle,  as  they  had  ever  been.  In  fact,  freed  from  the  chief  responsi- 
bility, he  was  more  ready  to  accept  of  measures  that  were  new  and  bor- 
dered on  innovation.  When  called  upon  for  his  opinion  he  expressed 
it  in  clear,  terse,  and  convincing  terms,  and  at  no  time  of  his  life  could 
the  appellation  of  a  wise  man  be  more  deservedly  bestowed  upon  him." 

President  Day  was  a  member  of  the  Board  of  "Visitors  for  the  Theo- 
logical Seminary  at  Andover,  and  one  of  the  corporate  members  of  the 
American  Board.  He  presided  over  the  General  Association  of  Con- 
necticut in  1829,  and  at  three  meetings  afterwards.  In  1817  he  received 
the  degree  of  LL.D.  from  Middleburg  College,  and  that  of  D.D.  from 
Union  College  in  1818,  and  from  Harvard  College  in  1831. 

Dr.  Day's  most  important  works  are  on  "  Algebra,"  "  Mensuration 
of  Superficies  and  Solids,"  "  Plain  Trigonometry,"  and  "  Navigation 
and  Surveying."  They. have  passed  through  numerous  editions,  and 
have  been  extensively  used  in  colleges  throughout  the  United  States. 
He  was  the  author  of  "  An  Inquiry  on  Self-Determining  Power  of  the 
Will,  or  Contingent  Yolition,"  and  "  An  Examination  of  President 
Edwards'  Inquiry  as  to  the  Freedom  of  the  Will."  He  published  occa- 
sional sermons,  and  contributed  articles  to  the  "  American  Journal  of 
Science  and  Arts,"  the  "  New  Englander,"  the  "  Christian  Spectator," 
and  to  other  periodicals.  On  the  11th  of  June,  1867,  President  Day 
wrote,  with  a  trembling  hand,  his  resignation  of  his  position  in  the 
Board,  and  the  corporation  passed  the  following  resolutions: 

"  Resolved,  That  we  regret  increasing  infirmities  of  old  age  lead 
President  Day  to  consider  it  necessary  to  resign  his  seat  in  this  board. 

"  Resolved,  That  we  recognize  the  goodness  of  God  in  giving  this 
College,  for  the  space  of  seventy  years,  first  as  tutor  and  professor,  theni 
as  President,  and  for  just  half  a  century  as  a  member  of  this  corpo- 
ration, the  services  and  counsels  of  such  a  man  as  President  Day,  so 
pure,  so  calm,  so  wise,  so  universally  beloved  and  honored." 

Living  beyond  the  ordinary  period  of  human  life,  he  was  left  the 
only  surviving  member  of  his  father's  family.  His  daughter  Martha, 
a  sweet  poetess,  died  at  the  early  age  of  twenty-one,  in  1S33.  Eliza- 
beth, wife  of  Professor  Thatcher,  died  in  1858.  Olivia  married  the 
Reverend  Thomas  Beecher,  and  after  a  short  married  life  died  in  1853. 
Stripped  thus  of  his  children,  President  Day  found  in  his  son-in-law, 
Professor  Thatcher  and  his  family,  all  the  attentions  that  love  and  rev- 
erence could  render,  until  death  called  hiin  to  a  higher  home.  He 
died  in  New  Haven,  on  the  22d  of  August,  1867,  shortly  after  his 
ninety -fourth  birthday. 


SEVENTEENTH  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


ANDREW  JOHNSON. 


In  Raleigh,  the  capital  of  North  Carolina,  was  born,  on  the  29th  of 
December,  1S0S,  a  boy  who,  reared  in  the  most  humble  circumstances, 
finally  occupied  the  most  exalted  position  tbe  Nation  could  offer. 
The  parents  of  tbe  seventeenth  President  of  the  United  States  were  so 
poor  tbat  they  could  not  give  the  slightest  advantages  of  education  to 
their  son.  When  he  was  ten  years  old,  young  Andrew  Johnson  was 
apprenticed  to  a  tailor  in  his  native  town.  He  had  never  attended 
school  a  day  in  his  life,  and  consequently  knew  nothing  of  reading  and 
writing.  A  gentleman  came  occasionally  to  read  aloud  to  the  work- 
men employed  in  the  tailor's  shop,  and  thus  a  desire  to  be  able  to  read 
for  himself  was  awakened  in  the  boy's  mind.  He  succeeded  in  learn- 
ing the  alphabet,  and  how  to  form  words  from  the  letters.  After  his 
marriage,  his  wife  often  read  to  him  while  he  was  busily  engaged 
with  his  needle,  and  in  the  evenings  she  taught  him  to  read,  write,  and 
cipher.  He  had  settled  in  Greenville,  Tennessee,  just  before  his  mar- 
riage. Endowed  with  great  energy  of  body  and  mind  he  advanced 
rapidly  in  intelligence  and  in  skill  at  his  trade. 

Mr.  Johnson  was  much  interested  in  local  politics,  and  in  1828  was 
elected  alderman  in  the  town  in  which  he  lived.  In  1830,  when  he 
was  but  twenty-two  years  of  age,  he  was  elected  mayor,  which  office 
he  held  for  three  years.  In  1834  he  was  appointed  by  the  County  Court 
one  of  the  trustees  of  Rhea  Academy.  In  1835  he  was  elected  a  mem- 
ber of  the  House  of  Representatives  in  Tennessee,  and  in  1839  was  re- 
elected. In  1840  he  canvassed  a  large  part  of  the  State  in  favor  ot 
Martin  Van  Bnren,  meeting  upon  the  stump  several  of  the  leading 
Whiir  orators.  The  next  year  he  was  elected  State  Senator  from  Haw- 
kins  and  Green  Counties.  In  1843  he  became  member  of  Congress, 
and,  by  successive  elections,  held  that  important  post  for  ten  years. 
While  there  he  was  conspicuous  in  advocating  the  annexation  of  Texas, 
the  tariff  of  1846,  and  the  war  measure  of  Polk's  administration.  In 
1853  he  was  elected  Governor  of  Tennessee,  and  was  re-elected  in  1855. 


A.NDEE  W  JOHNSON. 


On  December  7,  1857,  Mr.  Johnson  took  his  seat  in  the  United  States 
Senate,  to  which  he  had  been  elected  by  the  Legislature  of  Tennessee, 
for  a  term  of  six  years.  He  was  a  Democrat,  and  on  the  question  of 
slavery  he  sided  with  his  party,  but  after  it  became  apparent  that  the 
secession  movement  was  contemplated  he  placed  himself  unreservedly  on 
the  side  of  the  Government  in  a  speech  delivered  in  the  Senate,  in  Decem- 
ber, 1800.  In  the  following  March,  President  Lincoln  appointed  him 
Military  Governor  of  his  State ;  the  Senate  confirmed  the  nomination, 
and  on  the  12th  of  the  month  he  reached  Nashville,  and  at  once 
entered  energetically  upon  the  duties  of  the  office.  His  task  was  a 
perilous  and  arduous  one,  but  he  maintained  order  with  courage  and 
ability. 

By  1864  Governor  Johnson  was  everywhere  recognized  as  a  warm 
advocate  of  the  Republican  party.  The  National  Convention,  which  as- 
sembled in  June,  nominated  him  for  Vice-President  on  the  same  ticket 
with  Abraham  Lincoln,  who  was  re-nominated  for  the  Presidency. 
They  were  elected  by  one  of  the  largest  majorities  ever  given.  lie 
was  inaugurated  on  the  4th  of  March,  1865.  Scarcely  six  weeks  had 
passed  when  he  was  called  upon  to  resign  his  duties  at  the  head  of  the 
Senate  to  assume  far  heavier  responsibility.  Within  three  hours  after 
the  death  of  President  Lincolu,  Andrew  Johnson  took  the  oath  of 
office  as  his  successor. 

"  A  few  months  after  the  close  of  the  war,  the  soldiers  of  the  two 
armies,  numbering  in  all  about  a  million  and  a  half  of  men,  had  again 
become  peaceable  citizens.  But  during  1866, 'and  1867,  there  were 
much  excitement  and  bitter  feeling  regarding  the  question  of  Re- 
construction. The  President  and  Congress  differed  widely  in  opinion, 
and  it  was  oidy  after  a  long  struggle  that  most  of  the  seceded  States 
were,  in  July,  1S68,  restored  to  their  former  relations  in  the  Union. 
The  hostility  between  Mr.  Johnson  and  Congress  constantly  increased, 
and  when  the  former  attempted  to  remove  Edwin  M.  Stanton,  Secre- 
tary of  War,  his  impeachment  was  ordered  on  February  24,  1868, 
with  a  view  to  removing  him  from  office.  lie  was  tried  by  the  Sen- 
ate, but  two-thirds  having  failed  to  pronounce  him  guilty  of  "high 
crimes  and  misdemeanors,"  he  was  acquitted. 

Among  the  most  important  events  of  his  administration  were  the 
adoption  of  the  Thirteenth  and  Fourteenth  Amendments  to  the  con- 
stitution, the  Indian  war  in  the  South-west,  the  treaty  with  China,  the 
purchase  of  Alaska  from  Russia  for  587.200,000  in  gold,  and  the  final 
and  permanent  laying  of  the  Atlantic  Cable.    He  died  July  81,  1875. 


JOHN  PENDLETON  KENNEDY 


John  Pendleton  Kennedy,  a  distinguished  politician  and  author, 
was  born  in  Baltimore  on  October  25,  1795.  He  was  graduated  al 
Baltimore  College  in  1812,  and  four  years  later  was  admitted  to  the 
bar.  He  continued  the  practice  of  law  in  his  native  city  fur  more  than 
twenty  years,  enjoying  well-merited  professional  success. 

During  our  second  war  with  Great  Britain,  "  the  War  of  1812,' 
as  it  is  usually  styled,  young  Kennedy,  then  a  youth  in  his  teens,  patriot 
ically  offered  his  services  to  his  country.  They  were  accepted,  and  he 
participated  in  the  battles  of  Bladensburg  and  North  Point. 

Mr.  Kennedy  early  displayed  decided  political  ability.  He  was 
elected  to  the  House  of  Delegates  of  Maryland  in  1S20,  and  was  re- 
elected for  the  two  succeeding  years.  He  warmly  favored  the  adminis- 
tration of  John  Quinc}'  Adams,  and  advocated  a  Protective  policy. 
In  1838  he  was  sent  to  the  House  of  Representatives,  and  in  1840  was 
chosen  one  of  the  Whig  Presidential  electors.  He  was  re-elected  to 
Congress  in  1843  and  1845,  and  in  1846  again  entered  the  Maryland 
House  of  Delegates,  and  was  chosen  Speaker.  His  influence  with  his 
party  in  Congress  was  deservedly  great,  and  was  also  widely  felt  through 
his  political  papers  and  reports.  In  1852  President  Fillmore  offered 
Mr.  Kennedy  the  appointment  of  Secretary  of  the  Navy.  In  this  posi- 
tion, which  he  held  until  March  of  the  following  year,  he  was  urgently 
in  favor  of  Perry's  Japan  Expedition,  and  of  Kane's  second  Arctic 
voyage  in  search  of  Sir  John  Franklin. 

Mr.  Kennedy  commenced  his  career  as  an  author  in  1818,  by  the 
publication,  in  conjunction  with  Peter  Hoffman  Cruse,  of  "  Tbe  Red 
Book  ;  "  a  series  of  miscellaneous  papers  in  prose  and  verse,  issued  in 
Baltimore  about  once  in  every  two  weeks.  These  serials  were  continued 
through  the  years  1818  and  1819,  and  were  subsequently  collected  into 
two  volumes.  His  second  work,  entitled  "  Swallow  Barn ;  or,  A 
Sojuurn  in  the  Old  Dominion,"  consisted  of  a  number  of  sketches  of 


JOHN     PENDLETON  KENNEDY. 


Virginia  life  and  manners.  It  was  favorably  received.  In  the  preface 
to  his  second  edition  the  author  writes  as  follows :  "  I  wish  it  to  be  noted 
that  Swallow  Barn  is  not  a  novel.  It  was  begun  on  the  plan  of  a  series 
of  detached  sketches  linked  together  by  the  hooks  and  eyes  of  a  traveler's 
notes;  and  although  the  narrative  does  run  into  some  by-paths  of  per- 
sonal adventure,  it  has  still  preserved  its  desultory,  sketchy  character  to 
the  last.  It  is,  therefore,  utterly  unartistic  in  plot  and  structure,  and 
may  be  described  as  variously  and  interchangeably  partaking  of  the 
complexion  of  a  book  of  travels,  a  diary,  a  collection  of  letters,  a  drama,  i 
and  a  history,  and  this,  serial  or  compact,  as  the  reader  may  choose  to 
compute  it."  This  diversified  publication  was  followed  by  "  Ilorse- 
Shoe  Robinson,"  a  historical  novel.  This  is  a  well-told  narrative  of  the 
experiences  of  an  old  Revolutionary  soldier,  and  was  more  popular  than 
"  Swallow  Barn."  "  Rob  of  the  Bowl ;  a  Legend  of  St.  Inigoes,"  was 
his  next  publication.  "  Annals  of  Quod  Libet,"  a  political  satire  on  the 
"log  cabin  and  hard  cider"  campaign  for  the  election  of  Harrison  and 
Tyler,  appeared  in  1810.  Soon  after  Mr.  Kennedy  published  "  Me- 
moirs of  the  Life  of  William  Wirt,  Attorney-General  of  the  United 
States."  He  had  previously  delivered  a  much-admired  "  Discourse  on 
the  Life  and  Character  of  William  Wirt."  He  also  contributed  a  num- 
ber of  articles  to  periodicals,  and  was  the  author  of  numerous  speeches, 
addresses,  and  reports. 

The  following  complimentary  notice  appeared  when  the  fame  of 
this  popular  author  had  become  firmly  established :  "  Mr.  Kennedy  is 
altogether  one  of  our  most  genial,  lively,  and  agreeable  writers.  His 
style  is  airy,  easy,  and  graceful,  but  various,  and  always  in  keeping  with 
his  subject.  He  excels  both  as  a  describer  and  as  a  raconteur.  His 
delineations  of  nature  are  picturesque  and  truthful,  and  his  sketches  of 
character  are  marked  by  unusual  freedom  and  delicacy.  He  studies 
the  periods  which  he  attempts  to  illustrate  with  the  greatest  care ; 
becomes  thoroughly  imbued  with  their  spirit,  and  writes  of  them  with 
the  enthusiasm  and  the  apparent  sincerity  and  earnestness  of  a  contem- 
porary and  an  actor.  He  pays  an  exemplary  regard  to  the  details  of 
costume,  manners,  and  opinion,  and  is  scarce  ever  detected  in  any  kind 
of  anachronism." 

Mr.  Kennedy  died  at  Newport,  Rhode  Island,  on  the  18th  of 
August,  1870.  At  the  time  of  his  death  he  was  Provost  of  the  Univer- 
sity  of  Maryland,  Vice-President  of  the  Maryland  Historical  Society, 
Chairman  of  the  Trustees  of  the  Peabody  Academy,  and  a  member  of 
various  literary  and  scientific  institutions. 


BEAR.  ADM.  LOUIS  M.  GOLD  SB  OROUG-H  .U.S.N. 


LOUIS  M.  GOLDSBOROUGH. 


Rear- Admiral  Louis  Malesheebes  Goldsborough  was  bom  in  the 
city  of  Washington,  February  18,  1805.  He  early  manifested  a  predi- 
lection for  the  sea.  At  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  with  Great  Britain 
— in  1812 — being  then  seven  years  of  age — he  waited  upon  the  Hon- 
orable Paul  Hamilton,  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  and  solicited  an  appoint- 
ment as  a  midshipman.  He  received  this  position  without  the  aid  or 
even  the  knowledge  of  his  father,  his  warrant  bearing  date  June  18, 
1812 — the  very  day  on  which  war  was  declared.  In  great  exultation 
the  incipient  hero  returned  home  with  this  unquestionable  evidence  of 
his  appointment.  His  father  was,  however,  a  man  of  too  nice  a  sense 
of  honor  to  allow  his  son  to  draw  pay  while  he  was  yet  too  young  to 
perform  duty.  He  accordingly  waited  upon  the  Secretary,  and,  while 
thanking  him  for  the  appointment,  declined  his  receiving  pay  until 
capable  of  active  service.  The  boy-sailor  wore  his  uniform  and  attended 
school  in  Washington  for  several  years,  finally  going  to  sea  in  1817.  His 
first  cruise  was  in  the  "  Franklin,"  a  seventy-four,  the  Flag-Ship  of 
Commodore  Stewart,  then  in  command  of  the  Mediterranean  squadron. 
She  sailed  from  Philadelphia  October  14,  1817,  having  on  board  the 
Honorable  Richard  Rush,  Minister  to  England.  The  services  of  young 
Goldsborough  as  a  midshipman  were  varied,  in  both  character  and 
position.  He  was  promoted  to  a  lieutenancy,  January  13,  1825. 
Obtaining  leave  of  absence,  and  having  an  unofficial  opportunity  of 
visiting  Europe,  he  made  an  extensive  pedestrian  tour  in  France  and 
Switzerland,  spending  a  fortnight  with  the  Marquis  de  Lafayette.  In 
1827  he  joined  the  "  North  Carolina/'  Captain  Rodgers,  in  the  Medi- 
terranean. While  cruising  in  the  schooner  "  Porpoise,"  in  the  Grecian 
Archipelago,  he  distinguished  himself  by  his  dashing  and  gallant  cap- 
ture of  a  piratical  brig — boarding  her,  and  driving  the  pirates  into  their 
boats,  and  finally  to  the  shore,  keeping  up  a  running  fire  upon,  and 
producing  great  slaughter  among  them. 

In  September,  1840,  while  in  command  of  the  "  Enterprise,"  he 


LOUIS    M.  GOLDSBOEOU6H. 


captured  at  Bahia,  Brazil,  the  pirate  "  Malik-Adhel,"  with  a  valuable 
cargo,  which  he  sent  into  Baltimore.  He  received  his  commission  as  a 
Commander  in  the  United  States  Navy,  September  8,  1841.  He  was 
second  in  command  of  the  "  Ohio,"  at  the  bombardment  of  Vera  Cruz ; 
commanded  a  body  of  the  crew  of  the  "  Ohio,"  detailed  for  shore  ser- 
vice at  the  taking  of  Tuspan  ;  and,  after  the  Mexican  war,  was  senior 
naval  member  of  the  joint  Commission  of  Army  and  Navy  officers  to 
explore  California  and  Oregon,  and  report  on  various  military  matters. 

He  was  appointed  Captain,  September  14,  1855.  From  1853  to 
1857,  be  was  superintendent  of  the  Naval  Academy  at  Annapolis — a 
position  for  which  his  studies  and  his  mathematical  ability  fitted  him  in 
an  eminent  degree.  During  his  administration  many  important  im- 
provements and  changes  were  made,  the  general  efficiency  of  the  insti- 
tution was  greatly  increased,  and  he  received  the  special  commendation 
of  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy. 

After  being  relieved  from  this  duty  he  was  ordered  to  form  a  por- 
tion of  a  board  to  revise  the  "  Ordnance  Manual  "  for  the  use  of  naval 
officers.  In  185S  he  was  ordered  to  the  command  of  the  frigate  "  Con- 
gress," forty-four  guns,  the  Flag-Ship  of  Commodore  Sands,  on  the 
Brazil  station.  He  returned  home  in  that  ship,  just  after  the  opening 
of  hostilities  in  1861.  After  being  unemployed  for  a  short  time,  he 
was,  through  the  influence  of  Secretary  Chase,  appointed  to  the  com- 
mand of  the  North  Atlantic  Blockading  Squadron,  and  hoisted  his 
pennant  on  board  the  "  Minnesota." 

Roanoke  Island,  the  scene  of  Raleigh's  colonization  scheme,  was 
the  key  to  all  the  rear  defences  of  Norfolk.  In  the  joint  expedition  to 
capture  that  island,  early  in  1862,  Burnside  with  10,000  men  were  con- 
voyed by  a  fleet  under  Flag-officer  Goldsborough,  and  the  island  was 
taken  by  a  combined  attack,  February  8,  1862.  For  his  services  on 
this  occasion  he  received  the  thanks  of  Congress.  He  dispersed  and 
destroyed  the  confederate  fleet  under  Commodore  Lynch,  in  the  North 
Carolina  waters.  During  his  absence  the  "  Merrimac  "  made  her  cele- 
brated raid  into  Hampton  Roads. 

He  was  appointed  Rear-Admiral  by  act  of  July  16,  1862,  and  soon 
after  was  relieved  of  his  command.  After  the  close  of  the  Civil  War, 
Admiral  Goldsborough  was  put  in  charge  of  the  European  squadron. 
This  was  a  mission  of  peace,  and  in  his  many  reunions  with  brother 
sailors  of  other  nationalities,  he  proved  as  genial  a  social  companion 
as  he  had  formerly  been  formidable  as  an  enemy.  He  ended  his  active 
and  useful  life  in  the  city  of  Washington,  February  20,  1877. 


THOMAS 


JEFFERSON. 


It  is  said  of  Thomas  Jefferson,  our  third  President  and  the  author 
of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  that  of  all  the  puhlic  men  whc 
hare  figured  in  the  United  States,  he  was  incomparably  the  hest  scholar 
and  the  most  variously  accomplished  man.  Like  Washington,  he  was 
of  aristocratic  birth,  but  unlike  him  was  intensely  democratic  in  taste 
and  principle.  His  father,  Peter  Jefferson,  was  a  man  much  esteemed 
in  public  and  private  life.  Thomas  was  born  in  Shad  well,  Albemarle 
County,  Virginia,  on  the  2d  of  April  (old  style),  1743.  At  the  age  of 
seventeen  he  entered  an  advanced  class  in  William  and  Mary  College. 
At  the  end  of  two  years  he  commenced  the  study  of  law  with  George 
Wythe,  afterwards  Chancellor  of  Virginia.  In  1767  he  was  admitted 
to  the  bar,  and  entered  upon  the  practice  of  the  law.  Two  years  later 
he  made  his  first  appearance  in  public  life,  having  been  chosen  by  his 
fellow-citizens  to  a  seat  in  the  Legislature  of  Virginia. 

In  1772  he  was  married  to  Mrs.  Martha  Skelton,  a  beautiful  and 
wealthy  young  widow.  Mr.  Jefferson  was  now  one  of  the  largest  and 
wealthiest  slaveholders  in  Virginia,  but  he  so  disliked  the  system  that 
he  labored  most  zealously  for  its  abolition.  In  1771  he  published 
his  celebrated  "  Summary  View  of  the  Rights  of  British  America," 
which  attracted  much  attention. 

The  trouble  with  Great  Britain  had  reached  the  climax,  and  all 
thought  of  a  reconciliation  had  been  abandoned  by  the  colonists,  when 
Mr.  Jefferson  took  his  seat,  in  June,  1775,  in  the  Continental  Congress 
at  Philadelphia.  He  was  placed  on  the  most  important  committees, 
and  assisted  in  preparing,  in  behalf  of  the  colonies,  a  declaration  of  the 
cause  of  taking  up  arms.  He  was  made  chairman  of  the  committee  to 
draw  up  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  and  that  great  and  immor- 
tal document  was,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  words,  entirely  his  work. 
On  the  4th  of  July,  1776,  it  was  unanimously  adopted  and  signed  by 
every  member  except  John  Dickinson.    Retiring  from  Congress,  he 


THOMAS  JEFFERSON. 


applied  himself  for  two  years  and  a  half  to  a  revision  of  the  laws  of 
Virginia,  and  from  June,  1779  to  1781,  was  Governor  of  that  State. 
Returning  to  Congress,  he  was  appointed  by  that  body,  in  1784,  to  act  as 
Minister  Plenipotentiary,  with  John  Adams  and  Benjamin  Franklin,  in 
negotiating  a  treaty  of  commerce  with  foreign  nations.  The  next  year 
he  succeeded  Franklin  as  Resident  Minister  at  Paris,  where  he  be- 
came more  popular  and  more  of  a  personal  favorite  than  any  previous 
foreign  minister,  with  the  exception  of  Franklin.  While  abroad  he  pub- 
lished his  famous  "  Notes  on  Virginia."  Returning  to  America  in  the 
fall  of  1789,  he  was  appointed  by  Washington  his  Secretary  of  State. 

In  1796,  Adams,  the  Federalist  candidate  for  the  Presidency,  wae 
elected  by  a  majority  of  two  electoral  votes  over  Jefferson,  the  Repub- 
lican nominee,  who  then  became  Vice-President.  At  the  close  of 
Adams'  administration,  Mr.  Jefferson  again  became  a  candidate,  and 
was  successfully  elected.  The  news  was  received  in  most  parts  of  the 
Union  with  manifest  joy.  On  the  4th  of  March,  1801,  he  rode  down 
to  Congress  unattended,  and  leaping  from  his  horse,  hitched  it,  and 
went  into  the  new  Capitol  to  read  his  fifteen-minutes  inaugural,  an  ad- 
dress unsurpassed  among  his  many  great  State  papers.  Some  of  its 
sentences  have  passed  into  proverbs.  There  were  no  more  brilliant 
levees  and  courtly  ceremonies,  as  in  the  days  of  the  two  former  Presi- 
dents. This  unostentatious  example  was  wise  in  its  effects.  Soon  the 
public  debt  was  diminished,  the  army  and  navy  reduced, and  the  treas- 
ury replenished.  The  most  important  event  of  his  administration  was 
the  purchase  of  Louisiana  from  Napoleon.  At  the  expiration  of  his 
second  term,  he  retired  to  his  home  in  Monticello,  where  the  remaining 
seventeen  years  of  his  life  were  passed.  lie  died  there  on  the  4th  of 
July,  1S26,  at  the  age  of  eighty-three.  This  honored  patriot,  once  a 
wealthy  landowner,  died  poor  in  money,  having  by  his  profuse  hospi- 
tality spent  his  vast  estates. 

In  personal  appearance  Mr.  Jefferson  was  six  feet  two  inches  high, 
erect  and  well  formed  ;  his  eyes  were  light,  and  full  of  intelligence ; 
his  complexion  fair ;  his  noble  and  open  countenance  expressive  of 
good-will  and  kindness.  He  was  a  bold  horseman,  a  skilful  rider,  an 
elegant  penman,  a  fine  violinist,  a  brilliant  talker,  a  superior  classical 
scholar,  and  a  proficient  in  the  modern  languages.  On  account  of  his 
talents  he  was  styled  the  "  Sage  of  Monticello."  In  his  whole  career 
he  was  the  model  of  a  great  and  good  man.  He  commanded  the  re- 
spect of  even  his  opponents,  while  the  admiration  of  his  friends  was 
unbounded. 


ANNA  CORA  MOWATT  RITCHIE. 

Samuel  G.  Ogden,  the  father  of  Mrs.  Ritchie,  the  authoress  and 
actress,  was  for  years  a  successful  New  York  merchant.  He  was  the 
capitalist  in  the  celebrated  Miranda  expedition,  which  was  designed  to 
liberate  South  America,  but  failed  in  its  revolutionary  projects.  He 
then  went  to  France  to  recuperate  his  fallen  fortunes. 

Anna  Cora,  the  tenth  of  a  family  of  seventeen  children,  was  born  at 
Bordeaux,  France,  in  1S19,  during  the  residence  of  her  parents  in  that 
city.  Her  early  childhood  was  passed  in  a  grand  old  chateau,  named 
La  Castagne.  Several  of  this  numerous  family  evincing  a  decided 
dramatic  talent,  a  miniature  theatre  was  fitted  up  for  them  in  the 
chateau,  where  they  amused  themselves  with  dramatic  performances. 
After  some  years  spent  in  France,  Mr.  Ogden  returned  with  his  family 
to  New  York.  In  her  fifteenth  year,  while  still  attending  school,  Anna 
was  married  to  James  Mowatt,  a  lawyer  of  New  York.  The  §tory 
of  her  first  acquaintance  with  her  future  husband,  of  his  escorting  her 
to  and  from  school,  gallantly  carrying  her  satchel,  and  of  the  courtship 
and  runaway  match  that  followed,  are  very  pleasantly  narrated  in  Mrs. 
Mowatt's  "Autobiography."  Soon  after  their  marriage,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Mowatt  retired  to  a  country  residence  at  Flatbush,  Long  Island.  During 
the  first  two  years  of  her  married  life  the  youthful  wife  continued  her 
studies  with  great  diligence,  under  the  direction  of  her  husband,  who 
was  many  years  her  senior.  Several  happy  years  passed  swiftly  away 
in  their  pleasant  home,  each  fully  occupied  by  various  pleasures  and 
duties.  Under  the  nom  de  plume  of  "  Isabel,"  she  made  her  appear- 
ance as  an  authoress  by  the  publication  of  "  Pelayo;  or,  the  Cavern  of 
Covadonga,"  an  epic  in  five  cantos  ;  and  "  The  Tie  viewers  Reviewed," 
a  satire  directed  against  the  critics  of  the  former  poem. 

In  consequence  of  failing  health,  Mrs.  Mowatt  accompanied  a  newly 
married  sister  and  brother  on  a  tour  to  Europe,  where  she  spent  a  year 
and  a  half.  While  abroad  she  wrote  a  play,  "  Gulzara  ;  or,  the  Persian 
Slave."    She  had  appropriate  scenes  and  dresses  prepared  in  Paris, 


ANNA     COKA     MOW  ATT  RITCHIE. 


and  soon  after  her  return  to  America  produced  this  drama  at  a  private 
party  at  her  own  house.  It  was  well  received,  and  was  shortly  after- 
wards published  under  her  true  name.  Financial  reverses  overtaking 
her  husband,  Mrs.  Mowatt,  who  had  appeared  in  private  theatricals, 
resolved  to  give  public  readings.  The  favorable  reception  the  elder 
Vandenhoff  had  just  met  with  in  giving  dramatic  readings  decided  her 
pursuance  of  the  same  course.  She  gave  her  first  public  reading  in 
Boston,  in  the  autumn  of  1841.  An  attractive  person,  a  melodious  voice 
and  ladylike  manners  combined  to  produce  a  favorable  impression.  She 
soon  afterwards  appeared  in  New  York,  where  she  read  to  large  audi- 
ences. Mrs.  Mowatt  continued  her  readings  in  different  cities,  with 
varying  success.  Her  exertions  eventually  occasioned  a  serious  illness, 
from  the  effects  of  which  she  did  not  recover  for  two  years. 

In  1845  Mr.  Mowatt,  who  had  engaged  m  the  publishing  business, 
again  failed,  and  his  wife  resolved  to  go  upon  the  stage.  She  made 
her  first  appearance  at  the  Park  Theatre,  in  June  of  that  year,  as 
Pauline,  in  the  "Lady  of  Lyons,"  and  played  a  number  of  nights  with 
such  success  that  engagements  followed  in  other  cities,  and  she  soon  be- 
came an  acknowledged  "  star."  In  1847  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mowatt  visited 
England,  where  the  latter  met  with  such  decided  approval  that  they 
remained  abroad  for  a  number  of  years. 

Mr.  Mowatt  died  abroad  in  February,  1851.  After  a  round  of 
farewell  performances,  his  widow  returned  home  in  the  following  July. 
After  rilling  a  highly  satisfactory  engagement  in  New  York,  she  made 
a  brilliant  tour  through  the  United  States  previous  to  her  retirement 
from  the  stage  in  1854.  A  few  days  afterwards  she  was  married  to 
Mr.  William  F.  Ritchie,  of  Richmond,  Virginia. 

Mrs.  Anna  Cora  Mowatt  Ritchie  wrote  a  number  of  short  prose 
and  poetical  articles.  In  addition  to  the  larger  works  already  men- 
tioned, she  published  a  five  act  comedy  entitled  "  Fashion,"  and  a  five 
act  drama  named  "  Armand,"  in  the  stage  presentations  of  both  of 
which  she  appeared.  In  1854  she  published  the  "  Autobiography  of 
an  Actress  ;  or,  Eight  Years  on  the  Stage,"  a  record  of  her  private  and 
professional  life  to  that  date.  She  also  published  "  Mimic  Life ;  or, 
Before  and  Behind  the  Curtain  :  a  Series  of  Narratives;"  "The  Twin 
Roses  ;  "  "  The  Fortune-IJ  unter  ;  "  "  Fairy  Fingers  :  a  Novel ;  "  "  The 
Mute  Singer:  a  Novel ; "  "  The  Clergyman's  Wife,  and  Other  Sketches;" 
'  A  Collection  of  Pen  Portraits  and  Paintings,"  and  "Italian  Life  and 
Legends."  The  last  ten  years  of  Mrs.  Ritchie's  life  were  spent  in 
Europe.    She  died  at  Twickenham,  on  the  Thames,  July  28,  1870. 


WENDELL  PHILLIPS. 


Cicero's  definition  of  an  eloquent  orator  is  "  a  man  who  speaks  in 
the  forum  and  in  civil  causes  in  such  a  manner  as  to  prove,  to  delight, 
and  to  persuade.  To  prove  is  necessary  for  him  ;  to  delight  is  a 
proof  of  his  sweetness ;  to  persuade  is  a  token  of  victory,  for  that 
alone  of  all  results  is  of  the  greatest  weight  towards  gaining  causes. 
But  there  are  as  many  kinds  of  speaking  as  there  are  separate  duties  of 
an  orator.  The  orator,  therefore,  ought  to  be  a  man  of  great  judgment 
and  of  great  ability,  and  he  ought  to  be  a  regulator,  as  it  were,  of  this 
threefold  variety  of  duty.  For  he  will  judge  what  is  necessary  for 
every  one  ;  and  he  will  be  able  to  speak  in  whatever  manner  the  cause 
requires.  But  the  foundation  of  eloquence,  as  of  all  other  things,  is 
wisdom." 

Among  the  names  of  American  orators  of  the  present  century,  that 
of  Wendell  Phillips  ranks  with  the  most  celebrated  as  a  ripe  scholar 
and  as  a  fearless,  eloquent  speaker  and  writer.  "  As  a  rhetorician,  he 
possesses  high  merit.  His  style  is  polished  and  pointed  ;  the  matter  of 
his  discourses  learned  and  philosophical,  frequently  enlivened  by  wit 
and  sarcasm  ;  his  delivery  calm,  melodious,  and  effective." 

John  Phillips  was  the  first  Mayor  of  Boston,  Massachusetts.  His 
eon  Wendell  was  born  in  that  city  on  the  29th  of  November,  1811. 

Young  Phillips  received  his  education  at  Harvard  University,  and 
was  graduated  before  completing  his  twentieth  year.  Two  years  later 
he  finished  his  course  of  study  at  the  Cambridge  Law  School  and  was 
admitted  to  the  Suffolk  bar.  These  incidents  occurred  simultaneously 
with  the  commencement  of  General  Jackson's  second  presidential  term, 
and  while  the  agitation  of  the  slavery  question  was  at  its  height. 

In  1836,  Mr.  Phillips,  who  was  already  recognized  as  a  lawyer  of 
no  ordinary  ability,  manifested  his  deep  interest  in  and  sympathy  for 
the  slaves  by  becoming  a  member  of  the  new  Garrison  Abolition  party. 
This  faction  refused  to  support  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States, 


WENDELL  PHILLIPS. 


abstained  from  voting,  and  advocated  the  dissolution  of  the  Union,  as 
the  most  effectual  means  of  freeing  the  slaves.  In  1839  he  relin- 
quished the  practice  of  his  profession  from  unwillingness  to  observe 
the  oath  of  fealty  to  the  Constitution  required  of  him  as  an  attorney. 
Earnestly  devoting  himself  to  the  cause  of  emancipation,  he  eventually 
succeeded  William  Lloyd  Garrison — the  founder  of  the  American 
Anti-Slavery  Society — as  president  of  that  association,  and  retained 
the  position  until  its  dissolution. 

Mr.  Phillips'  first  memorable  speech  was  made  in  Faneuil  Hall,  in 
December,  1837,  at  a  meeting  convened  to  notice  in  a  suitable  manner 
the  murder,  in  the  city  of  Alton,  Illinois,  of  the  Reverend  Elijah  P. 
Lovejoy,  who  fell  in  defence  of  the  freedom  of  the  press.  At  a  mo- 
ment when  the  purpose  of  the  meeting  seemed  likely  to  be  defeated, 
Mr.  Phillips,  who  was  among  the  audience,  rose  impulsively  and  in  an 
eloquent  and  indignant  outburst  rebuked  the  leader  of  the  opposition 
for  the  adverse  sentiments  he  had  just  uttered.  This  well-timed  inter- 
position secured  the  passage  of  the  desired  resolutions.  From  that  hour 
Wendell  Phillips  became  not  only  a  prominent  leader  of  the  Abolition 
Party,  but  its  most  popular  orator. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  civil  war,  Mr.  Phillips,  though  he 
occupied  an  ultra  position  in  many  respects,  sustained  the  government 
for  the  same  reasons  that  had  formerly  induced  him  to  advocate  its 
disunion.  Throughout  the  war  he  delivered  numerous  orations,  with 
very  powerful  and  general  popular  effect.  In  1863  and  1864  he  advo- 
cated arming,  educating,  and  enfranchising  the  freedmen.  In  1870  he 
was  the  Temperance  and  Labor  Reform  candidate  for  Governor  of 
Massachusetts,  and  received  nearly  twenty  thousand  votes. 

At  a  meeting  in  Faneuil  Hall,  in  January,  1S75,  he  made  a  power- 
ful speech  in  favor  of  the  Louisiana  policy  of  President  Grant.  In  a 
speech  delivered  in  Boston,  in  March  of  that  year,  his  peculiar  financial 
views  were  fully  explained.  He  has  long  been  an  advocate  of  Woman 
Suffrage,  Prohibitory  Liquor  Laws,  and  Prison  Reform,  and  has  also 
earnestly  opposed  capital  punishment.  He  is  still  a  frequent  public 
lecturer,  and  as  such  takes  rank  among  the  most  gifted  and  prominent 
of  his  countrymen.  Among  the  most  celebrated  of  his  popular  lectures 
are  "  The  Lost  Arts "  and  "  Toussaint  L'Ouverture."  He  has  con- 
tributed largely  to  the  "  Liberator  "  and  "  The  Anti-Slavery  Standard," 
and  to  numerous  other  periodicals  and  newspapers. 

A  collection  of  his  writings,  entitled  "  Speeches,  Lectures,  and  Let 
ters  by  Wendell  Phillips,"  was  published  at  Boston,  in  1863. 


GENERAL  WILLIAM  T.  SHERMAN" . 


WILLIAM  TECUMSEH  SHERMAN. 


Major-General  William  T.  Sherman,  of  the  United  States  Army, 
son  of  Judge  Charles  R.  Sherman,  was  born  in  Lancaster,  Ohio,  on 
the  8th  of  February,  1S20.  He  was  a  descendant  of  Samuel  Sherman, 
who  came  from  Essex  Co.,  England,  in  the  early  part  of  the  seventeenth 
century,  and  settled  in  Connecticut.  Judge  Sherman  dying  suddenly 
when  his  son  William  was  about  nine  years  old,  he  was  adopted  by  the 
Honorable  Thomas  Ewing,  whose  daughter  he  subsequently  married, 
lie  was  graduated  from  the  Military  Academy  at  West  Point,  in  1840. 
Entering  the  Third  Artillery  he  served  in  Florida,  and  in  November  of 
the  following  year  he  became  first  lieutenant.  He  was  for  a  time  a 
broker  in  San  Francisco,  and  afterwards  practised  law  in  Leavenworth, 
Kansas.  In  1860  he  was  appointed  Superintendent  of  a  new  military 
academy,  founded  by  the  State  of  Louisiana,  but  resigned  the  position 
when  the  secession  ordinance  was  passed  in  January,  1861. 

Sherman  at  once  left  the  South,  and  hastening  to  Washington  offer- 
ed his  services  to  the  general  government.  He  was  appointed  a  colonel 
of  the  13th  Infantry,  in  May,  and  commanded  a  brigade  at  the  battle 
of  Bull  Run,  July  21st.  He  succeeded  General  Anderson  in  command 
of  the  department  of  Kentucky,  in  the  following  October.  His  estimate 
of  the  number  of  men  he  required  was  considered  so  extravagant  that 
he  was  relieved  from  his  command. 

In  February,  1862,  Sherman  took  command  of  the  Fifth  Division  of 
the  Army  of  the  Tennessee ;  and  at  the  battle  of  Shiloh,  April  6-7,  by 
his  energy  and  skill  saved  the  fortunes  of  the  day.  General  Grant,  in 
his  generous  acknowledgment  of  his  services,  said,  "  To  his  individual 
efforts  I  am  indebted  for  the  success  of  that  battle."  Though  he  was 
severely  wounded  in  the  hand  and  had  three  horses  shot  under  him,  he 
remained  in  the  thickest  of  the  light  throughout  the  conflict.  May  1st 
he  was  promoted  to  the  post  of  Major-General  of  Volunteers. 

The  siege  of  Corinth,  in  which  Sherman  took  a  prominent  part, 
followed.  In  the  Vicksburg  campaign,  which  began  in  December,  he 
commanded  the  First  Division,  and  on  the  27th,  made  an  unsuccessful 


WILLIAM    TECUM8EH  SHEEMAW. 


attempt  to  capture  that  place  from  the  north  side.  In  several  battles 
preceding  the  siege  he  rendered  important  services,  and  commanded 
one  of  the  three  corps  which  made  an  unsuccessful  assault  on  the  works, 
May  22d.  At  length  the  garrison  at  Vicksburg,  worn  out  by  forty-seven 
days  in  the  trenches,  surrendered  on  the  4th  of  July,  1863.  Sherman 
at  once  marched  against  General  Johnson,  and  took  possession  of  Jack- 
son, Mississippi,  from  which  the  enemy  was  driven  on  the  17th  inst. 
One  important  purpose  of  the  North  was  thus  fully  accomplished. 

On  the  15th  of  November,  1863,  Sherman  joined  Grant  at  Chatta- 
nooga. On  the  24th  and  25th  the  far-famed  "  Battle  above  the  Clouds  " 
took  place.  The  result  was  the  possession  of  Chattanooga  by  the  Union 
forces.  Sherman  and  his  troops  were  immediately  ordered  to  Burn- 
side's  relief ;  but  as  they  approached  Knoxville  the  enemy  raised  the 
siege  and  fled.  On  the  6th  of  May,  1864,  Sherman  moved  upon  John- 
son, who  was  stationed  at  Dalton,  Georgia.  This  campaign  of  four 
months'  duration,  its  ten  pitched  battles  and  scores  of  lesser  engage- 
merits,  was  decided  in  favor  of  the  Union  Army. 

Sherman  soon  after  joyfully  learned  that  Hood,  Johnston's  successor, 
was  to  invade  Tennessee.  This  intelligence  left  him  free  to  advance 
at  will,  with  little  danger  of  opposition,  and  he  at  once  prepared  for  his 
celebrated  "  march  to  the  sea."  The  effect  of  this  march  can  hardly 
be  overestimated.  In  five  weeks  they  advanced  three  hundred  miles, 
foraging  the  country  as  they  passed,  reached  the  sea,  stormed  Fort 
McAllister  and  captured  Savannah.  Sherman  sent  the  news  of  this 
brilliant  achievement,  accompanied  by  twenty-five  thousand  bales  of 
cotton  and  one  hundred  and  fifty  pieces  of  ordnance,  to  President 
Lincoln,  as  a  "  Christmas  Present  to  the  Nation." 

Early  in  February,  1865,  Sherman's  troops,  after  a  month's  rest, 
were  put  in  motion  northward.  Rivers  were  waded  on  the  march,  and 
one  battle  was  fought  while  the  water  was  up  to  the  shoulders  of  the 
men.  Columbia  was  captured  on  the  17th,  and  Charleston  was  evacu- 
ated the  next  day.  After  fierce  engagements  at  Averysboro  and  Ben- 
tonville,  March  15th  and  18th,  Johnston,  who  again  had  command  of 
the  Confederate  forces,  was  driven  back,  and  Raleigh  was  captured 
April  13th.  On  the  26th  Johnston  surrendered  on  the  same  terms 
granted  to  Lee  ;  and  the  war  was  ended. 

On  the  4th  of  March,  1869,  when  General  Grant  resigned  his 
military  rank  to  enter  upon  his  duties  as  President,  General  Sherman, 
by  act  of  Congress,  succeeded  to  his  position  as  General  of  the  Army 
of  the  United  States. 


NICHOLAS  MURRAY. 


The  Reverend  Nicholas  Murray,  D.D.,  was  born  in.  the  county  of 
Westmeath,  Ireland,  on  Christmas  day,  1802.  His  ancestors,  as  far 
back  as  he  could  trace  them,  were  Roman  Catholics.  He  attended 
school  until  he  was  twelve  years  old,  when  he  was  apprenticed  to  a  mer- 
chant. The  place  was  a  hard  one,  and  at  the  end  of  three  years  young 
Murray,  unable  to  endure  it  longer,  ran  away  and  went  home.  In 
1818  he  sailed  for  America  to  seek  his  fortune.  Landing  in  New 
York,  he  found  employment  for  a  short  time  in  the  printing-house  of 
the  Harper  Brothers.  The  firm  has  since  published  the  numerous  edi- 
tions of  Dr.  Murray's  writings. 

Before  he  had  been  long  in  the  city,  he  not  only  became  a  Protes 
taut,  but,  through  the  advice  of  friends,  determined  to  study  for 
the  ministry.    For  some  time  he  continued  his  clerkship,  giving  his 
leisure  time  to  his  books,  but  in  the  fall  of  1821  he  gave  up  business 
and  devoted  himself  to  study.    The  succeeding  nine  months  were  spent 
at  Amherst  Academy,  after  which  he  passed  the  full  course  at  "Williams 
College,  and  was  graduated  with  honor  in  1826.    He  then  entered  the 
Theological  Seminary  at  Princeton,  and  though  his  straitened  means 
obliged  him  to  leave  college  for  eighteen  months,  he  continued  his 
studies,  and  was  thus  enabled  to  finish  the  course  with  his  class.    He  was 
licensed  to  preach  by  the  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia  in  April,  1829 
He  was  soon  after  called  to  take  the  pastorate  of  the  church  in  Wilkes 
barre,  Pennsylvania,  and  was  ordained  and  installed  in  November 
On  the  23d  of  July,  1833,  he  was  installed  as  Pastor  of  the  First  Pros 
byterian  Church  in  Elizabethtown,  New  Jersey.    He  retained  this 
charge  until  his  death,  though  he  was  frequently  invited  to  assume 
the  pastorship  of  prominent  churches  in  Boston,  Brooklyn,  Charleston, 
Natchez,  St  Louis,  and  Cincinnati.    He  received  the  appointment  of 
Professor  in  two  Theological  Seminaries,  was  also  Secretary  and  Gen- 
eral Agent  of  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  and  General  Agent  of 
the  American  Tract  Society  for  the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi. 


NICHOLAS  MURRAY. 


Dr.  Murray  is  widely  known  as  an  author.  He  first  wrote  for  the 
public  while  he  was  in  college.  In  Wilkesbarre  he  was  a  contributor 
to  the  "  Christian  Advocate,"  and  after  his  removal  to  Elizabethtown 
he  wrote  for  the  papers  and  occasionally  published  sermons,  to  the  dili- 
gent and  systematic  preparation  of  which  he  devoted  strict  attention. 
His  "  Letters  to  Archbishop  Hughes,"  under  the  signature  of  "  Kirwan," 
were  extensively  reprinted  in  other  lands.  His  other  published  works 
are  "Notes  Historical  and  Biographical  concerning  Elizabethtown," 
"  Romanism  at  Home,"  "Men  and  Things  as  I  Saw  them  in  Europe  in 
1853,"  "Parish  and  Other  Pencillings,"  " Happy  Home,"  "  Preachers 
and  Preaching,"  "American  Principles,  and  National  Prosperity;"  and 
a  series  of  letters  to  the  "  New  York  Observer  "  during  his  last  visit  to 
Europe.  Several  sermons  which  had  not  been  preached  were  found  in 
his  study  after  his  death  and  were  published  under  the  title,  "  A  Dying 
Legacy  to  the  People  of  his  Beloved  Charge."  He  was  much  em- 
ployed as  a  popular  lecturer  through  the  country. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Murray  died  at  his  residence  in  Elizabethtown,  on  the 
4th  of  February,  1861.  He  was  greatly  loved  by  his  congregation,  and 
his  loss  was  felt  by  the  whole  Presbyterian  Church. 

Dr.  Murray's  intellect  was  decidedly  of  a  marked  character.  It 
was  clear,  comprehensive,  logical,  and  withal  eminently  practical. 
Though  it  never  moved  sluggishly,  it  was  never  in  a  hurry  ;  it  always 
took  time  to  assure  itself  that  there  were  no  unsound  links  in  the  chain 
by  which  it  was  conducted  to  its  conclusion.  He  had  one  of  the 
largest,  most  guileless,  genial,  and  loving  hearts  in  the  world.  You 
needed  only  to  look  him  in  the  face  to  feel  assured  that  you  were  in 
contact  with  a  man  who  would  not  deceive  you.  He  possessed  strong 
sensibilities  and  sympathies,  and  knew  how  to  rejoice  with  them  that 
rejoice,  and  to  weep  with  them  that  weep.  This  combination  of  fine 
intellectual  and  moral  qualities,  rendered  his  presence  most  welcome 
and  grateful  in  the  social  circle.  His  beaming,  genial  expression,  and 
affable  manners,  gave  promise  of  nothing  which  his  bright,  cheerful, 
edifying  conversation  did  not  amply  realize.  As  a  preacher  very  rare 
and  commanding  qualities  were  universally  conceded  to  him.  His 
style  was  luminous,  simple,  and  in  the  highest  degree  sententious.  The 
same  characteristics  which  rendered  his  public  discourses  so  striking 
and  effective  combined  with  others  to  make  him  a  most  attractive  writer 
on  general  subjects,  and  on  questions  of  controversy  particularly, 
well-nigh  unequalled. 


SAMUEL  P.  BATES. 


The  reputation  won  by  Mr.  Bates  as  an  author  is  divided  betweej 
educational  and  military  themes.  His  "  History  of  the  Battle  of 
Gettysburg"  has  caused  his  name  to  be  more  widely  known  than  any 
other  of  his  published  works,  it  having  received  elaborate  notice  in  the 
English  press,  and  been  highly  commended  by  the  leading  generals 
in  both  the  Union  and  Confederate  armies,  as  well  as  by  eminent 
English  and  French  military  critics.  But  his  "  Lectures  on  Mental  and 
Moral  Culture  "  was  earliest  published,  and  has  attained  a  wider  cir- 
culation. 

Mr.  Bates  was  born  in  Mendon,  Mass.,  where  his  ancestors  for 
several  generations  had  lived.  He  was  educated  at  Brown  University, 
under  the  presidency  of  Francis  Wayland,  graduating  in  1851.  The 
first  year  after  leaving  college  was  spent  in  the  study  of  English  liter- 
ature. For  five  years  subsequent  he  taught  the  ancient  languages  at 
Meadville,  Pennsylvania,  which  has  come  to  be  his  permanent  home, 
and,  in  the  meantime,  gained  a  wide  reputation  as  a  lecturer  on  edu- 
cational topics. 

In  1857  Mr.  Bates  was  elected  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction 
for  Crawford  County,  one  of  the  largest  and  most  influential  in  the 
State,  when  a  broader  scope  was  given  for  his  oratorical  talents,  and 
he  soon  acquired  a  State  reputation  for  educational  work.  At  the  end 
of  his  fiist  term,  which  was  for  three  years,  he  was  re-elected,  but 
resigned  to  accept  the  office  of  Deputy  State  Superintendent  of  Public 
Instruction,  tendered  him  by  Dr.  Thomas  H.  Burrows,  under  the  ad- 
ministration of  Governor  William  F.  Packer.  This  he  held  for  six 
years,  and  was,  during  this  period,  prominent  among  educators  of  a 
national  reputation,  especially  by  his  labors  in  the  National  Teachers' 
Association,  before  which  he  delivered  his  address  on  "  Liberal  Edu- 
cation," at  its  meeting  at  Ogdensburg,  N.  Y.,  in  186i,  which  was  pub- 
lished in  Barnard's  "  American  Journal  of  Education,"  and  also  in 
pamphlet  form.  It  was  in  this  address  that  the  diverse  pronunciation 
of  the  ancient  languages  was  pointedly  referred  to,  and  the  necessity  cf 


SAMUEL    P.  BATES. 


professional  training  for  instructors  in  the  higher  institutions  strongly 
urged,  producing  a  marked  impression  in  educational  circles.  In  1865 
the  degree  of  LL.D.  was  conferred  upon  him.  At  this  period  he 
published  his  "  Institute  Lectures  ;"  also  a  little  hand-book  on  "  Methods 
of  Conducting  Teachers'  Institutes,"  which  has  commanded  a  large 
sale. 

Deeming  him  fitted  by  capacity  and  culture  for  the  difficult  work, 
Governor  Curtin  appointed  him,  in  1866,  State  Historian,  authorized  by 
the  Legislature,  for  the  purpose  of  setting  in  an  enduring  form  an 
account  of  the  military  organizations  which  went  forth  from  the  State 
to  do  battle  for  the  Union  when  threatened  by  rebellion. 

To  write  of  events  which  transpired  ages  ago,  where  the  material  is 
ample,  is  comparatively  easy.  But  to  gather  up  the  fragmentary 
annals  of  campaigns  scarcely  finished,  and  weave  therefrom  veritable 
records  which  shall  stand  the  criticism  of  the  men  who  were  a  part  of 
the  transactions,  is  a  more  embarrassing  task,  and  requires  a  degree  of 
patience  and  painstaking,  of  careful  discrimination  and  unbiassed  judg- 
ment, rarely  possessed.  For  seven  years  he  was  unceasingly  employed, 
and  the  result  was  published  by  the  State  in  five  large  volumes,  at  an 
expense  of  nearly  a  half-million  of  dollars,  and  forms  an  enduring 
monument  of  the  patriotism  of  the  Keystone  Commonwealth. 

This  work  had  scarcely  been  completed  when  Mr.  Bates  was  em- 
ployed by  Major  Armor  to  write  the  "Lives  of  the  Governors  of  Penn- 
sylvania," one  of  the  pleasantest  and  most  interesting  of  his  numerous 
works.  Closely  following  this  was  the  "  Martial  Deeds  of  Pennsyl- 
vania," a  large  octavo  volume,  illustrated  with  nearly  eighty  portraits 
on  steel  of  officers  and  civilians  made  famous  during  the  late  war.  It 
was  also  published  in  quarto  form,  in  red  line,  at  an  expense  of  fifty 
dollars  per  copy.  The  "  History  of  the  Battle  of  Gettysburg,"  which 
followed  hard  upon — has  already  achieved  for  its  author  a  more  than 
national  reputation,  and  stamped  him  as  a  war  critic  and  arbiter  of 
military  operations  of  the  very  first  order. 

In  1877  Mr.  Bates  visited  Europe,  spending  considerable  time  in 
Scotland,  England,  France,  Italy,  Switzerland,  and  the  cities  of  the 
Rhine.  Upon  his  return  he  prepared  and  repeatedly  delivered  a 
course  of  four  lectures  on  the  "  Art  Centres  of  Italy — Naples,  Rome, 
Venice,  and  Florence,"  respecting  which  impartial  criticism  has  declared 
that  "his  hearers  sat  rapt  and  spellbound  under  his  clear  and  pictu- 
resque portrayal  of  the  wonders  and  glories  of  the  Eternal  City,  and 
her  glorious  sisters  of  the  enchanted  laud." 


BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 


The  distinguished  family  of  American  Sillimans  is  thought  to  be 
of  Swiss  origin.  From  the  early  colonial  days  they  have  been  residents 
of  Fairfield,  Connecticut. 

Ebenezer  Silliman,  the  grandfather  of  Benjamin,  was  graduated  at 
Yale  College  in  1727,  and  Gold  Selleck,  the  father,  in  1752.  The  latter 
was  a  lawyer,  and  during  the  Revolutionary  War  served  efficiently  as 
Brigadier-General  of  the  State  militia.  He  stood  big-h  in  the  confi- 
deuce  of  Governor  Trumbull,  and  was  entrusted  for  a  time  with  the 
protection  of  the  Long  Island  coast,  which  his  residence  at  Fairfield 
readily  enabled  him  to  have  in  charge.  In  1780  a  party  of  British 
troops  landed  on  this  vicinity  and  took  General  Silliman  prisoner.  Six 
months  later  he  was  exchanged  with  Judge  Jones,  of  Long  Island,  whom 
an  expedition  from  Connecticut  had  seized  and  carried  off  by  way  of 
retaliation. 

Mrs.  Gold  Selleck  Silliman  was  a  daughter  of  the  Reverend  Joseph 
Fish,  for  fifty  years  pastor  of  the  Second  Church  of  Stonington.  They 
had  two  sons,  the  younger  of  whom  was  Benjamin  Silliman,  M.D.,  LL.D., 
who  was  born  in  New  Stratford,  now  Trumbull,  on  the  8th  of  August, 
1779.  The  family  had  fled  to  that  place  upon  the  invasion  of  th* 
coast  at  New  Haven  hy  the  British  forces.  Fairfield  and  Norwalk 
were  soon  afterwards  burned.  General  Silliman  died  in  1790,  and 
the  task  of  educating  young  Benjamin  devolved  upon  his  mother. 
He  was  fitted  for  college,  and  entering  Yale  was  graduated  in  the  sarao 
class  wTith  his  brother,  at  the  early  age  of  seventeen  years.  Three  years 
later  he  was  appointed  tutor,  and  held  the  office  five  years.  After  his 
graduation  he  spent  some  time  in  studying  law,  and  was  admitted  to 
the  New  Haven  bar  in  1802.  The  same  year  he  abandoned  his  in- 
tention of  following  that  profession,  to  devote  himself  to  the  study 
of  Chemistry  and  Natural  History.  This  change  in  his  plans  was 
effected  through  the  influence  of  Dr.  D wight,  who  had  seen  the  young 


BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 


man's  capacity  to  teach  and  govern  tested  during  his  five  years'  experi- 
ence as  tutor.  After  two  years  spent  in  Philadelphia  as  a  pupil  of  Dr. 
Wood  house,  in  preparation  for  his  new  office,  he  delivered  a  partial 
course  of  Lectures  on  Chemistry,  a  science  then  in  its  infancy,  to  the 
students  of  the  college  at  New  Haven.  In  the  winter  of  1805  he  gave 
his  first  full  Course  of  Lectures,  and  then  visited  Europe  to  prosecute 
his  studies.  He  was  ahsent  fourteen  months,  and  upon  his  return  re- 
sumed his  professorship.  lie  subsequently  published  an  account  of 
this  tour,  entitled  "Journal  of  Travel  in  England,  Holland,  and  Scot- 
land, and  two  Passages  on  the  Atlantic,  in  the  Years  1805  and  1S06." 

Shortly  afterwards  he  made  a  geological  survey  of  a  part  of  Con- 
necticut, which  is  believed  to  have  been  the  first  similar  exploration 
made  in  the  United  States.  He  published  a  paper  in  conjunction  with 
Professor  Ivingsley  on  the  famous  Weston  meteorite.  In  1818  he 
founded  the  "American  Journal  of  Science  and  Arts,"  of  which  for 
twenty  years  he  was  sole  editor,  and  for  eight  subsequent  years  senior 
editor.  In  the  years  between  1835  and  1S40  Professor  Silliman  gave 
courses  of  lectures  in  most  of  the  principal  cities  in  the  United  States. 
He  was  also  invited  to  deliver  the  Lowell  Lectures  at  about  the  same 
time.    He  made  a  second  visit  to  Europe  in  1851. 

In  1853  he  resigned  his  professorship,  and  was  made  Professor 
Emeritus ;  but  at  the  request  of  his  colleagues  he  continued  to  lecture 
on  Geology  till  June,  1855,  when  he  gave  his  closing  academic  course. 

Professor  Silliman  was  a  member  of  numerous  American  and 
European  scientific  societies.  lie  was  pre-eminent  as  a  teacher,  and  as 
a  lecturer  he  was  almost  unsurpassed.  "Without  a  severe  logical 
method,  he  threw  so  much  zeal  into  his  discourse,  expressed  himself 
with  such  an  attractive  rhetoric,  and  supported  his  doctrine  by  experi- 
ments of  such  almost  unfailing  beauty  and  success,  that  all  audiences 
delighted  to  hear  him  ;  so  that  for  years  no  lecturer  so  attractive  could 
address  an  assembly,  whether  gathered  within  the  walls  of  a  college  or 
from  the  people  of  crowded  cities."  Outside  of  the  lecture-room,  by 
the  profound  investigations  given  to  the  world  through  the  press,  he 
rendered  invaluable  service  to  the  cause  of  science.  He  was  aptly 
styled  by  Edward  Everett,  "  the  Nestor  of  American  science? 

Professor  Silliman  was  a  finished  gentleman,  and  a  social  favorite. 
His  person  was  commanding,  his  manner  dignified  and  affable,  and  his 
general  traits  of  character  such  as  to  win  universal  respect  and  admira- 
tion. He  died  in  New  Haven  on  Thanksgiving  Day,  November  24, 
1864. 


AMBROSE  EVERETT  BURNSIDE. 


Major-General  Ambrose  E.  Burnside  is  of  Scottish  descent. 
His  grandparents,  near  the  close  of  the  last  century,  came  to  thia 
country,  and  settled  in  South  Carolina.  His  father,  in  1821,  removed 
to  Indiana,  where  Ambrose  was  born,  at  Liberty,  Union  County,  on 
May  23,  1824.  He  was  graduated  with  distinction  at  tbe  West  Point 
Military  Academy  in  1847,  and  was  appointed  second  lieutenant  in  the 
third  artillery.  Immediately  joining  in  the  Mexican  campaign,  he 
marched  with  Patterson's  column  to  the  city  of  Mexico.  In  1849  he 
was  ordered  to  New  Mexico  as  first  lieutenant  in  Captain  Bragg's  bat- 
tery, and  highly  distinguished  himself  in  a  conflict  with  the  Apaches. 
In  1850-51  he  was  quarter-master  in  the  Mexican  Boundary  Commis- 
sion. In  1851  he  was  promoted  to  a  first  lieutenancy,  and  resigned  the 
rank  in  1853.  Subsequently  he  commenced  in  Rhode  Island  an  estab- 
lishment for  the  manufacture  of  the  breech-loading  rifle,  which  he  in- 
vented while  on  duty  in  Mexico.  To  his  great  disappointment  he  was 
obliged  to  abandon  this  enterprise,  and,  removing  to  Chicago,  first  be- 
came cashier  in  the  land  office  of  the  Illinois  Central  .Railroad  Com- 
pany, then  treasurer,  and  was  occupying  that  position  in  New  York 
City  at  the  commencement  of  the  Civil  War  in  1861.  Governor 
Spragne  offered  Lieutenant  Burnside  the  command  of  a  regiment. 
Accepting  this  invitation  he  hastened  to  Rhode  Island,  and  four  days 
later,  April  21,  1861,  passed  through  New  York  at  the  head  of  the 
first  detachment  of  Rhode  Island  Volunteers  for  the  defense  of  Wash- 
ington. In  the  first  battle  of  Bull  Run,  Burnside  commanded  a  brig- 
ade, and  displayed  such  force  and  military  ability  as  to  be  highly 
commended  by  General  McDowell,  and  received  the  appointment  of 
Brigadier-General  of  Volunteers.  During  the  remainder  of  the  sum- 
mer he  assisted  General  McClellan  in  organizing  the  arm}'.  In  the 
early  part  of  January,  1862,  General  Burnside  and  Flag-Officer  Golds- 
borough  led  an  expedition  for  the  capture  of  Roanoke  Island.  On 
February  8th  the  Island  was  taken  by  a  combined  attack.    For  thie 


AMBROSE    EVERETT  JJTJRNSIDE. 


victory  the  legislature  of  Rhode  Island  voted  Burnside  a  sword  ;  and 
on  March  18th  he  was  made  Major-General  of  Volunteers.  On  the 
14th  of  the  following  April  he  captured  Newbern — Beaufort  and  Fort 
Macon  were  taken  soon  after.  Thus  all  the  coast  of  North  Carolina  fell 
into  Union  hands.  On  McClellan's  retreat  to  the  James  River  in  July, 
General  Burnside  was  ordered  to  re-enforce  him  with  the  greater  part 
of  his  brigade.  The  defeat  of  General  Pope  compelled  him  to  fall  back 
to  Washington.  At  this  time  the  National  Capital  was  in  greater  peril 
than  it  had  ever  been  since  the  commencement  of  the  war.  When  the 
Confederates  invaded  Maryland,  Generals  Burnside  and  McClellan 
pushed  forward,  met,  and  defeated  them  at  South  Mountain  on  Septem- 
ber 14th.  At  the  battle  of  Antietam  on  the  17th,  Burnside,  command- 
ing the  left  wing,  fought  gallantly  throughout  the  day,  and  though 
it  proved  an  indecisive  battle,  the  effect  was  that  of  a  Union  victory. 
During  the  next  month  General  Burnside  was  placed  in  command 
of  one  of  the  three  grand  armies  into  which  the  Army  of  the  Poto- 
mac was  divided.  In  November  he  was  appointed  successor  to  Mc- 
Clellan, wide-spread  dissatisfaction  having  been  expressed  at  the  slow- 
ness with  which  the  latter  pursued  the  retreating  Confederates.  The 
two  commanders  were  warm  friends,  and  it  was  with  great  reluctance 
that  Burnside  accepted  the  position.  Crossing  the  Rappahannock  (at 
Fredericksburg)  on  pontoon  bridges,  he  attempted,  on  December  13th, 
to  storm  the  works  in  the  rear  of  the  town.  The  Army  of  the  Potomac 
which  had  proved  itself  unequalled  in  defence,  was  now,  for  sthe  first 
time  in  its  history,  to  "  move  on  the  enemy's  works."  The  Confeder- 
ates, intrenched  behind  a  solid  stone  wall,  four  feet  high,  and  on  heights 
crowned  with  artillery,  being  aware  of  the  orders  given  Burnside  by 
the  Washington  authorities,  easily  resisted  the  repeated  assaults  of  the 
Union  troops. 

General  Burnside  was  relieved  of  his  command,  January  28,  1863 
and  assumed  control  of  the  Department  of  the  Ohio  on  April  26th.  On 
the  29th  of  November  the  Confederate  General  Longstreet,  made  s 
desperate  assault  upon  Burnside  at  Knoxville,  Tennessee,  and  was 
heroically  repulsed.  In  April,  1864,  he  was  placed  in  command  of  the 
Ninth  Corps,  and  participated  in  the  campaigns  in  the  vicinity  of  Rich- 
mond and  Petersburgh  until  Lee's  final  surrender.  At  the  conclusion 
of  the  War  he  engaged  in  business  in  New  York,  and  at  the  West. 
In  the  spring  of  1866  he  was  elected  Governor  of  Rhode  Island,  and 
filled  that  office  until  1871.  In  1875  he  was  elected  United  States 
Senator  for  Rhode  Island. 


KAVANAU  GH.D.D. 


HUBBARD  HINDE  KAVANAUGH. 


The  Reverend  H.  H.  Kavanaugh,  D.D.,  Bishop  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  South,  was  born  January  14,  1802,  near  Winches- 
ter, in  Clarke  County,  Kentucky. 

His  father,  the  Reverend  William  Kavanaugh,  was  of  Irish  descent, 
and  born  in  East  Tennessee,  while  his  parents  were  on  their  way 
from  Virginia  to  Kentucky.  He  traveled  several  years  as  a  minister 
in  the  Methodist  connection,  in  the  early  days  when  that  church  for- 
bade the  marriage  of  its  clergy  ;  but  he  finally  married  Miss  Hannah 
H.  Hinde,  a  native  of  Virginia,  whose  father  had  settled  near  AVin- 
chester.  After  withdrawing  from  the  ministry  for  a  time  he  united 
with  the  Episcopal  Church,  and  was  among  the  finest  ministers 
of  that  denomination  who  preached  in  Louisville,  Ky.  Mr.  Kavan- 
augh died  when  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  between  four  and  five 
years  of  age.  His  wife,  who  was  a  Methodist,  survived  him  fifty 
years.  She  was  a  woman  of  great  fortitude  and  cheerfulness,  possessed 
an  exhaustless  fund  of  patience,  was  deeply  pious,  and  exerted  an  in- 
fluence in  rearing  and  training  her  children  which  was  mainly  instru- 
mental in  making  them  worthy  and  valuable  citizens. 

Her  son,  Hubbard  Hinde,  was  educated  at  the  old-style  private 
country  school,  and  at  the  age  of  fifteen  was  apprenticed  to  a  printer. 
The  Reverend  John  Lyle,  in  whose  family  he  resided  during  his  ap- 
prenticeship, became  so  much  interested  in  the  boy  as  to  offer  him  a 
classical  education,  on  condition  that  he  should  enter  the  Presbyterian 
Church.  But  his  good  mother  had  planted  in  him  the  principles  of 
Methodism,  which  now  irresistibly  appealed  to  his  conscience.  The 
kindness  of  Mr.  Lyle  was  not  lessened  by  his  declining  the  acceptance 
of  this  generous  offer,  and  after  his  young  friend  finally  determined 
to  prepare  himself  for  the  ministry,  Mr.  Lyle  relieved  him  from  his 
apprenticeship  two  years  before  the  expiration  of  his  time. 

Her  son  now  returned  to  his  mother's  roof  and  entered  upon  a  sys- 
tematic course  of  study.  He  rose  to  the  ministry  by  regular  steps; 
first  becoming  a  leader  for  the  colored  and  ihen  for  the  white  people 


HUBBARD    HINDE  KAVANAUGH. 


In  1822,  lie  was  recommended  by  the  Quarterly  Conference  of  the 
Mt.  Sterling  Circuit,  to  the  district  conference  as  prepared  to  preach, 
and  was  licensed  to  exhort  in  the  pulpits  of  the  surrounding  country. 
He  was  finally  induced  to  deliver  a  trial  sermon  before  a  select  few  in 
a  private  room  at  Augusta,  while  editing  and  printing  "The  "Western 
Watchman,"  a  paper  published  by  James  Armstrong,  a  merchant  of 
that  place.  This  gentleman  and  his  friends  had  so  arranged  matters 
that  Mr.  Kavanaugh  was  unacquainted  with  their  ulterior  purpose,  and, 
although  he  very  reluctantly  consented,  his  effort  proved  eminently 
successful.  Its  effect  was  indeed  overwhelming !  From  that  time  the 
church  of  the  town  was  open  to  him,  and  his  position  as  a  preacher  in 
the  Methodist  pulpit  secured. 

Mr.  Kavanaugh  was  recommended  to  the  annual  Conference 
which  met  at  Maysville  in  the  fall  of  1823.  He  was  admitted  on 
trial  and  assigned  to  the  Little  Sandy  Circuit.  He  afterwards  became 
successively  pastor  of  most  of  the  important  churches  in  the  State, 
scarcely  any  part  of  which  has  not  felt  his  influence,  if  not  benefited 
by  his  actual  ministration.  In  February,  1839,  he  was  appointed 
Superintendent  of  Public  Education,  and  filled  the  position  until  the 
following  year,  when  it  was  again  proffered  him.  In  1839  and  1840 
he  was  also  agent  for  the  College  at  Augusta,  under  the  auspices  of 
the  Methodist  Church.  In  1854,  at  the  General  Conference  held  in 
Columbus,  Georgia,  this  eminent  divine  was  elected  Bishop  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  In  this  office,  the  highest  within  the  gift 
of  his  denomination,  he  has  met  their  highest  expectations. 

Bishop  Kavanaugh  is  a  man  of  attractive  manners,  and  is  noted  for 
his  great  activity  and  remarkable  powers  of  endurance.  Up  to  Octo- 
ber, 1850,  he  had  preached  three  thousand  three  hundred  and  thirty 
sermons,  besides  attending  to  the  other  important  demands  upon  his  time 
and  energies.  Since  1850  he  has  preached  over  four  thousand  sermons), 
and  during  his  short  stay  of  ten  months  in  California  delivered  over 
three  hundred  and  fifty  sermons.  For  over  half  a  century  he  has  been 
before  the  country  as  a  minister  of  the  Gospel,  and  for  nearly  half  of 
that  time  has  held  the  office  of  Bishop.  He  is  gifted  with  superior 
intelligence,  and  with  almost  unrivaled  eloquence.  Few  American 
clergymen  have  during  the  present  half  century  filled  as  large  a  space 
in  the  public  mind  and  heart.  Enshrined  in  the  affections  of  a  church 
which  loves  him  for  his  work's  sake  no  less  than  for  the  fineness  of 
his  temper  and  the  purity  of  his  life,  "  he  is  smoothly  passing  into  a 
green  old  age." 

I 


DAVID  CROCKETT. 


Forty  years  ago  few  names  were  more  celebrated  than  that  of 
Colonel  .David  Crockett,  of  Tennessee.  lie  was  known  far  and  near  as 
an  eccentric  self-made  man.  He  possessed  great  native  force  of  mind, 
and  always  lived  up  to  his  maxim,  "  Be  sure  you  are  right,  then  go 
ahead."  He  was  kind-hearted,  full  of  anecdote  and  humor,  with  ;i 
disposition  that  would  not  allow  him  to  do  injury  to  any  one  ;  yet 
was  notoriously  reckless  of  his  own  life,  and  fearless  of  all  authority. 
Rough  in  exterior  appearance,  uneducated,  with  unpolished  manners, 
and  much  of  the  wild  recklessness  of  the  ranger  in  his  nature,  he  still 
held  in  sacred  keeping  such  virtues,  such  true  nobility  of  character  and 
disinterested  feelings  of  humanity,  as  give  to  his  name  and  memory 
a  lasting  hold  upon  the  remembrance  and  admiration  of  posterity. 

"  Davy  Crockett,"  as  he  was  familiarly  known,  was  born  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Limestone  River,  Greene  County,  Tennessee,  on  the  17th 
of  August,  1786.  His  father  was  of  Irish  descent,  and  his  mother  an 
American.  Though  they  were  poor,  David  lived  very  comfortably  at 
home,  until  he  was  twelve  years  of  age,  when  he  began  to  make 
acquaintance  with  hard  times.  Then  he  was  hired  to  a  Dutch  cattle- 
trader,  and  for  the  greater  part  of  the  next  five  years  wandered  over  a 
large  tract  of  country  with  drovers  and  carriers.  It  was  a  life  of 
adventure,  varied  occasionally  by  a  few  weeks  of  hard  work  on  some 
farm,  or  in  a  little  country  place.  He  spent  a  few  months  at  home 
when  he  was  about  thirteen,  and  then  attended  school  for  the  first  time 
in  his  life.  He  went  four  days,  and  was  just  beginning  to  learn  his 
letters  when  he  had  a  falling  out  with  a  larger  boy,  which  resulted 
not  only  in  his  playing  truant,  hut  in  his  running  away  from  home 
also,  to  escape  punishment.  Two  or  three  years  later  he  spent  a  short 
time  at  school,  working  two  days  a  week  to  pay  for  his  board  and 
schooling.  He  succeeded  in  learning  a  little  arithmetic,  how  to  read 
in  the  primer,  and  to  write  his  own  name.  This  was  all  the  technical 
education  he  ever  received  ;  but  his  quick  wit  and  aptitude  for  acquiring 


DAVID  CROCKETT. 


information  by  intercourse  with  men  of  superior  education  did  him 
good  service.  He  married  quite  early,  and,  going  to  a  wild  part  of  the 
State,  became  noted  as  a  hunter.    He  had  no  equal  as  a  bear  hunter. 

In  1813  Crockett  served  in  the  Creek  War  under  General  Jackson, 
and  at  the  close  received  the  commission  of  colonel.  The  first  office 
lie  held  was  that  of  justice  of  the  peace.  He  was  very  popular  on  the 
frontier,  and  was  next  elected  to  the  Legislature  of  Tennessee.  He 
was  twice  re-elected,  and  in  1827  was  chosen  a  representative  in  Con- 
gress, where  he  remained  until  1831.  In  1833  he  was  again  elected, 
and  served  until  1835.  In  the  last-named  campaign  the  following 
amusing  incident  occurred.  He  and  the  opposing  candidate  canvassed 
then  district  together,  and  made  stump  speeches.  Crockett's  opponent 
had  written  his  speech,  and  delivered  the  same  one  at  different  places. 
David  was  always  original,  and  he  readily  yielded  to  his  friend's 
request  to  speak  first.  At  a  point  where  both  wished  to  make  a  good 
impression,  Crockett  requested  to  speak  first.  His  opponent  could  not 
refuse ;  but  to  his  dismay,  he  heard  David  repeat  his  own  speech. 
The  colonel  had  heard  it  so  often  that  it  was  fixed  in  his  memory. 
The  other  candidate  was  speechless,  and  lost  his  election  ! 

While  in  Washington  he  was  always  at  his  post  of  duty,  and  never 
forgot  the  welfare  of  his  constituents.  Though  he  obtained  notoriety 
by  his  eccentricity  of  manner  and  language,  his  course  in  Congress 
won  the  respect  of  the  first  statesmen  of  his  time. 

It  is  certainly  a  very  curious  phase  of  American,  and  especially  of 
Western  character,  which  is  exhibited  in  the  ease  with  which  Crockett 
passed  from  one  act  of  the  singular  drama  of  his  life  to  another. 
Yesterday  a  rough  bear  hunter,  to-day  a  member  of  the  Legislature  ; 
to-morrow  a  member  of  Congress,  and  the  fearless  opponent  of  his  old 
commander,  General  Jackson.  Such  sudden  and  successful  advances 
in  life  are  scarcely  seen  except  in  our  own  country,  where  perfect  free- 
dom opens  a  boundless  field  to  enterprise  and  perseverance. 

In  1835  Colonel  Crockett  again  became  a  candidate  for  Congress 
and  his  popularity  seemed  greater  than  ever.  He  told  stories  or 
related  his  wild  adventures  with  as  wonderful  effect  as  of  yore; 
but  in  spite  of  every  effort  he  was  defeated.  This  disappointment  was 
the  cause  of  his  resolution  to  remove  to  Texas.  His  journey  there  was 
full  of  incident.  Kesident  Americans  there  were  in  revolt  against 
Mexico,  and  the  colonel  hastened  to  join  them.  He  met  his  death  on 
the  6th  of  March,  1836,  while  defending  Fort  Alamo,  in  San  Antonio 
de  Bexar. 


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